My Life Through Your Eyes, The Journal
by Harmony-Forever
Summary: NOW COMPLETE!-- What do you get when you mix together a blistering hot day, a trip to the lake with the Durselys, one of your best friends and her backpack? (Harry & Hermione, Fluff, Smutt) Please take my PG-13 rating seriously.
1. Default Chapter

**Disclaimer: The books are not mine, the characters are not mine, we all know that JK Rowling is the one who**

**brought Harry Potter to life and we thank her VERY much for it.**

**Authors Note: Hello everyone, this is my first finished Fan Fic, I do have one in the making and more ideas for future**

**writing. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it, reviews of any sort are always welcome. **

****

Harry stripped his drenched shirt from his sticky body and tossed it into the corner of his room. He had never experienced such an intense wave of heat before. Harry was sure that if he had to endure another day like this one, he would go mad.

"Boy, get down here. I want a word with you." Came a hollow voice from below.

Harry sighed deeply. He really didn't have the energy to carry himself down the stairs.

"Come on you lazy brute, I don't have all day!"

Harry slowly made his way down and faced his Uncles puffy face.

"Yes Uncle Vernon?"

"Consider yourself lucky boy. Petunia and I were having a discussion." He brushed his mustache with his stubby fat fingers and glanced at Aunt Petunia's long face for support.

"Were going to the lake, its too hot here." She finished for him.

"Yeah okay, have fun, I'll be a good boy." Harry answered; ready to turn himself around and trot back to his room.

"Oh no you don't!" Vernon bellowed. "I don't trust you here in my home, alone, for that many days…. I can just imagine it, oh yes I can _see_ it… all those crazy folks coming to _my_ home, sitting on _my_ furniture. Mrs. Figg will never be watching you again, she's one of _your_ lot and with your behavior nobody wants to look after you!" Vernon puffed and took a deep breath as Aunt Petunia's hand rested on his shoulder.

Harry clenched his fist as Uncle Vernon's face turned a pitch red.

"So… you have to… come with us."

Harry's eyes widened with astonishment and a wide grin spread across his face. He was going to go camping; he was going to go camping for the very first time.

Dudley, who had been eavesdropping from the entrance to the room, fell to the floor in rage and tears.

"NOOOO PLEASE, YOU CANT, NOT HIM!"

The drive to the lake was long and painful. Dudley would repeatedly ask how far away from the lake they were and each time he wasn't pleased with the answer, Harry would get a sharp punch in the stomach or shoulder from Dudley. By the time they had arrived to the lake, Harry felt quite bruised from the constant beatings and was more then relieved to jump out of the cramped car and take in the fresh air. He couldn't wait to let his feet take him mindlessly to new places.

"Boy, your helping me set up the camp trailer, you're to help Petunia clean the trailer up. Set up your own tent a fair distance away from our trailer, but close enough so that I could keep an eye on you. Be back to your tent before Dudley gets back to the trailer…. And remember boy, no funny stuff!" Uncle Vernon barked.

Harry frowned, but he knew better than to argue. He would finish his work and then he would be free. He nodded and set to work as Dudley plugged a small TV to the electrical outlet near the trailer and plumped down on the hot dry grass.

It had taken Harry nearly four hours to complete his tasks. The sun was beginning to set as Harry finished eating his hotdog.

'_Tomorrow will be a good day_'Harry thought smiling to himself.

He quickly brushed his teeth, threw on his pajama pants and settled himself into the sleeping bag within his tent. 

**NEXT PAGE**


	2. Chapter 2

Harry awoke before the warm gentle rays of sun could brighten the earth. He dressed in a pair of jeans, a blue t-shirt and a soft large hoody to keep the morning chill at bay. He hastily stuck his wand in his back pocket and trotted off to explore his surroundings. Massive trees towered over Harry as he entered a forest path. The smell of moss and moist earth reached Harry's nostrils. Sounds of squirrels scattering from tree to tree and birds chirping filled his ears. Harry came to a halt as his path divided into two roots. He looked from one to the other, and decided he was going to take the path that forked to the right.

Harry's mind filled with thoughts of his two best friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. He thought about what they might be doing over the holidays and couldn't wait to see them again.

The night before his journey to the lake, Harry pulled out two pieces of parchment. He wrote a quick message to Ron explaining that he would be going on a trip to the lake and warned him not to send any owls because muggles would get suspicious. On the other piece of parchment, Harry wrote a letter to Hermione.

_Hermione, _

_I'm going camping at the lake with the Dursley's. They couldn't find anyone to "watch me" so they decided they had to bring me along. I hope you don't mind if I leave Hedwig in your care. I just thought you might like to use her to send messages to Ron or Victor. I hope your having a great summer. I'll see you soon._

_Harry_

For some reason, when Harry thought about Hermione he would get a strange feeling in his stomach. He found himself thinking about her for hours at a time and she entered his dreams. Harry would awake feelings hot, sweaty and ashamed. Hermione was his friend, how could he think about her in _that_ way.

The morning rays pierced through the trees. Pounding the ground a little bit harder, he made his way to the clearing ahead. Harry's mouth went dry and his heart leaped. Just ahead of him was a girls figure with bushy brown hair. She was sitting on a log just in front of the waters edge and seemed to be taking in the scenery around her.

_Hermione? No, Hermione was back at home with her parents and Hedwig. _

Harry let out a silent sigh of disappointment. He turned around quietly and took a step back towards the forest, not wanting to startle or disturb the girl. Just as he made a second step, a twig snapped under his foot. There was a gasp and Harry felt the girl turn towards his direction.

"H, Harry?" a trembling voice asked.

He turned around with the largest grin on his face.

_It is Hermione, this can't be happening, it's a miracle. _

"It _is_ you, oh Harry you scared me!" she laughed jumping from the log and bounding at Harry. He wrapped his arms around her enjoying her familiar scent.

"I thought you were-"

"Some else, I know." She finished for him.

"Were's-"

"Hedwig's fine, she's with Ron. I wanted to call and tell you that I was leaving too Harry, but I was afraid you would get in trouble by your aunt and uncle."

"I still can't believe that we ended up coming to the same place." Harry said while letting go of Hermione.

"I was hoping that maybe we would."

"You missed me that much?" Harry teased.

She playfully slapped his shoulder. Harry winced.

"Did I hit you that hard?" she asked concerned.

"No, no, just… hit my other arm for now. This one was used as Dudley's stress reliever."

"Oh, I'm so sorry Harry."

She walked around to Harry's side and started to gently message his arm and shoulder.

Harry moaned.

"Too hard?" she asked momentarily stopping and searching his emerald green eyes with her own large cinnamon ones. Harry wanted to melt.

"No, not too hard, it feels really good."

She smiled mysteriously and positioned herself behind Harry making small circular movements with her thumbs near his neck. She glided her loving hands up and down Harry's spine making the hairs on his neck stand.

"Hermione… your, amazing."

"Why thank you Mr. Potter. But we'll have to continue this session another time." She teased grabbing his good arm and pulling him over to the log she had been sitting on earlier.

"Hungry?"

"I hadn't had any breakfast yet."

"Good." She answered pulling a backpack near her feet. "Lets see, what do we have here?"

Harry grinned. This was Hermione, always prepared.

"I brought a thermos full of hot tea, ham, tomato and cheese sandwiches and a big slice of apple pie that we can split."

They ate their breakfast in silence enjoying the sights and sounds around them, but most of all, enjoying each other's company. Harry felt completely content and extremely happy just sitting next to Hermione. She would catch his eye every so often and grin.

Harry rubbed his full stomach. "That was really, really good Hermione. Especially the apple pie."

Her cheeks turned pink.

"I'm glad you approve. I made it myself."

"You're the smartest witch in our year, you give a killer message _and _you're a great cook… Wow, you're really going to make some lucky wizard really happy." He teased as her cheeks now flushed a scarlet red.

"Your just full of compliments today."

"I think I should do it more often." He said with a shaky voice forcing the lump in his throat downwards.

He moved his lips towards hers; he felt her steady breath brush against his cheek,

"Hey moron where are you?"

Their foreheads collided.

"Ouch." Hermione frowned rubbing her head.

"S,sorry Hermione, you have to hide, quick its Dudley." Harry panicked pulling Hermione into the trees.

"Harry wait!"

"Shh, I'll meet you back here tonight."

"When?"

"Sunset."

"Come on Harry. I know you're around here!" Dudley called out again.

"Harry," she took a hold of Harry's hoody before he could move. "My backpack, its still there." She pointed to the log.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it, just go."

Hermione hesitated for a moment before jogging away just as Dudley stepped into the clearing.

****


	3. Chapter 3

"Running away?" Dudley smirked.

"No." Harry leaned down and picked up a smooth flat rock, "skipping rocks."

"I know you're up to something."

"Why don't you go back to watching your TV?"

"There's nothing on right now and besides, my parents want to see you back at the trailer to make sure your not getting yourself into trouble."

"Fine." Harry said throwing the rock as hard a she could into the lake. He casually picked up Hermione's backpack and set one of the straps on his shoulder.

Harry slumped back to the forest path six paces behind Dudley and in silence. Dudley had ruined his moment with Hermione. He had almost kissed her; he had been waiting for that moment for a long time. Now he was being forced to wait even longer and he would have to muster up the courage all over again. Harry never felt more frightened in his life.

_What if she wont let me? What if she doesn't like me that way? She wasn't expecting it this time, but next time she'll know what I'm doing._

Dudley slowed his pace down enough for Harry to catch up.

"Your acting weird." Dudley mumbled.

"That should be normal to you." Harry smirked.

"You know what I mean."

"No, I don't."

"You're wearing a pink backpack."

Harry felt a shiver go up his spine. He never stopped to think how stupid he would look with Hermione's pink backpack slung over his right shoulder.

"Its my friends backpack." He admitted.

"Stop pretending that you have friends at that freak school of yours."

"I'm wearing a pink backpack to get in touch with my feminine side, believe what you want, I don't care!"

Harry stormed off into his tent and cautiously placed Hermione's backpack on his sleeping bag. He wanted to make sure not to break anything.

_What does she have in here?_

It was fairly heavy, but Harry knew that Hermione always carried around a handful of books. He smiled remembering how excited she had been to receive the book Theory of Numerology from him last year at Christmas. His heart pounded as he ran his fingers along the zipper line.

_I can't do this. These are her private things._

Harry took one last glance at the backpack and left the tent. Temptation was very powerful and Harry longed to see what Hermione might have inside as his mind danced with different ideas and possibilities. He took a deep breath of the hot air and decided it was his turn to surprise Hermione with something to eat.

Hermione sat by the campfire with two things on her mind. The first being Harry and the second being her backpack. How could she have been this careless? She should have just run back and grabbed it, but deep down she knew there was no chance. As soon as she disappeared into the trees she heard Harry's cousin's voice. When she returned to her campsite her mom had questioned her about the whereabouts of the backpack.

"Hermione, where's your backpack dear?"

"I, uh, err," she hated lying to her parents who's smiling faces sucked up every word which came out of her mouth. " I left it by the lake where I went to do my homework."

"Someone might steel it."

"I hid it and I'm going back there later today."

"Hermione, we don't want you wandering around by yourself in the dark." Her mother said sternly.

"Mum, I, I need to."

"Hermione Jane Granger, you will do no such thing while you are living under our roof!"

Hermione took a deep breath and bit her lower lip as her mind raced to find a good excuse.

"Its, for my astronomy class. There's eeerr, a star that can only be seen from that angle. I promise to be careful mum and I wont be back too late, honest."

"Okay Hermione. Just this once. I'm letting you go because I trust you."

Those three last words stung as her stomach flip flopped and she was sure that "guilt" was written all over her face.

Her breathing quickened at the thought of Harry rummaging through her things. She wouldn't have cared if she wasn't hiding anything from Harry, but she was. Her deepest emotions, thoughts and feelings were all carefully written down and were now in danger of being exposed. She closed her eyes as she felt them water and rested her long slender fingers on her lips where Harry had almost touched them with his own lips. She shook her head. She was being stupid; he wasn't going to kiss her. She had only wished it so much that she was starting to believe that he had the same feelings for her as she had for him.

Harry rolled up a blanket and placed it next to a bag, which contained the picnic dinner. His face lit up at the thought of Hermione's surprised face and her glowing almond eyes. There was still plenty of time before sunset but Harry didn't have much to do and he wanted everything to be perfect. Harry set off back to his tent to retrieve Hermione's backpack and to grab his jacket in case it would cool off too much without the presence of the sun. He was a couple of steps away from the tent entrance when he heard noises. A large figure was casting a shadow from the inside of his tent and Harry reached instinctively for his back pocket where he kept his wand. Harry pushed the tent flap open, jumped inside and pointed his wand at the figure before him. 

****


	4. Chapter 4

"DUDLEY!" Harry didn't know if he was relieved or furious. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Hermione's backpack still sat on his sleeping bag, but it was no longer closed. Hermione's personal things were spread all over the inside of the tent. All sorts of books (Harry's heart gave a jolt as he noticed Theory of Numerology among them) were hastily tossed to one corner of the tent along with ink, quills, pens, parchment, paper and some S.P.E.W badges.

"N,nothing.. I was… I was just,"

"Snooping through my friends backpack!" Harry yelled giving Dudley a shove.

"Your girlfriends backpack." Dudley smirked.

Harry's cheeks felt warm. Somehow, he didn't mind Hermione being called his girlfriend. He liked the idea and the sound of it. It didn't seem to matter to Harry that Dudley had just rummaged through Hermione's things or that he, Harry would most likely get an earful from Hermione as soon as she found out that her neatly organized bag had been flipped inside out. Dudley's comment about Hermione being his girlfriend released the tension from his face and turned him soft.

"Just go Dud."

"Huh?"

"Go and watch some TV or something." Harry said pointing to the entrance.

"There's something wrong with you." Dudley frowned and left quickly pushing Harry out of his way.

Harry got down on his knees and started to pick Hermione's things up and organizing them in a way he thought Hermione might have organized herself. He was surprised to find that Hermione actually had a mirror, brush and lip gloss in her bag. He loved her natural beauty and he couldn't imagine how stunning she would look if she ever decided to impress someone. Harry picked up a Galleon and grinned. He knew immediately that this was the enchanted Galleon, which was used for their DA meetings in their fifth year. She had kept hers and so had Harry. He knew Hermione was brilliant, but he was extremely impressed with how well she managed to effortlessly perform such difficult spells at her age.

Harry crawled over to another corner of the tent and started picking up many letters, most of them seemed to be from Harry and some of them dated as far back as their first summer apart from one another. Harry also kept all the letters he had received from people who were very close to him and stored them under a loose floorboard in his room at the Dursley's house. On days when he felt lonely and cut off from the wizarding world, he would take the letters out and read through them one by one. There were certain letters that Harry couldn't and hadn't touched for a long time because of the bone breaking pain it brought back. These untouched letters were the ones from Sirius.

The summer before Harry's sixth year had been the most difficult and worst summer of his life. He found himself dwelling on the past, blaming himself for Sirius's death and blocking out the world around him. He had received many letters from a concerned Hemrione and a confused Ron. Harry didn't want to talk or write about it, so he completely ignored their continuous letters and never bothered to write anything in reply. He had been a real git and a big prat to the both of them. In the end, they both showed Harry how much he meant to them when they forgave him immediately after Harry had apologized. Although Ron had helped, it was Hermione who shook him out of his depression and made Harry move on.

Harry wondered if he should go down to breakfast. He hadn't eaten anything for three days straight and hadn't bothered to change his clothes either. He just lay in bed in his plaid pajama pants, staring at the ceiling above and wished he hadn't been born.

The sound of a doorbell pierced through the quiet and Harry thought the Dursley's invited Aunt Marge to make his life more miserable.

Harry heard the door creek open.

"Good morning Mr. And Mrs. Dursley. I'm Lola Burks, an assistant at the rehabilitation ward at St. Mungo's hospital. Harry's had quite a number of accidents over the past years, and I'm just coming by to make sure he's doing well."

"He's upstairs Miss Burks, do make it quick, we're about to have breakfast." Petunia spat.

"I'll just take some breakfast to him and then we don't have to worry about taking too much time."

Vernon mumbled something under his breath and minutes later Harry heard Miss Burks coming up the stairs.

_Why am I having someone sent to check up on me from St. Mungo's?_

There was a light tap on the door and Miss Burk's didn't wait for a reply as the door slid open.

Two large sparkling round eyes made contact with Harry's tired green ones. Hermione Granger stood at the entrance to Harry's room with square spectacles placed on her nose and her bushy hair tied back in a neat ponytail. She was wearing black pants, a pearl sweater and what looked like a long, white lab coat with pens in the left pocket and a clipboard in the opposite hand. Harry opened and closed his mouth several times before Hermione put a finger to her lips. She closed the door behind her, poured a yellow liquid on the door handle and looked at Harry's confused face.

"Its works like a silencing charm."

"W,what are you doing here?"

"What do you think I'm doing? Being your best friend. I know you need someone to talk to." She answered softly bringing a tray of food to Harry's side.

"What makes you think I want to talk?"

"Oh, I know you don't want to talk. But what you need and what you want are two very different things."

Harry took a sandwich from the tray and nibbled at it.

"So?" She asked sitting on the bed beside Harry and looking at her hands.

" I don't know why you came here Hermione, you're wasting your time."

"Come on Harry, it'll do you some good to share some of your feelings."

"How the hell do you know what's good for me huh? You think you're a bloody know it all… but you have no idea Hermione, no idea what I've been going through!"

"Calm down Harry. That's why I'm here, I don't have any idea what you're going through and I want you to tell me. Oh and Harry… I won't leave until you do."

"I'll guess you'll stay here forever then."

"Okay. It seems to be what your doing and you might as well have me for company." She frowned and folded her arms against her chest.

"Just leave Hermione."

"No."

An awkward silence filled the room.

"You know, this room would look really nice with a new coat of paint."

"You really don't look bad with glasses on."

"Huh? … Oh, these," she laughed taking them off. "I thought it would be a good idea to pretend that I'm from St. Mungo's and doing a check up on you. It might scare them a little and they might take better care of you."

"Highly unlikely." Harry muttered.

"How are you feeling?"

"No Hermione, I'm not getting into this."

"Please."

Harry looked into those teary Cinnamon eyes. The dancing happiness that normally filled them seemed to have vanished and they looked cold and hurt. Harry's heart sank, he couldn't feel more terrible then he did at that moment. He just couldn't bear that it was he that made that glitter disappear.

"I'm sorry Hermione."

"Its all right Harry, you've been through a lot. But it really is time for you to open up to someone about what you're going through. If you tell me now that you would much rather talk to Ron about this, I'll leave you alone and no, I wont be angry with you."

"Hermione… I want to talk to you."

She blushed and smiled at Harry, the glitter returning to her almond eyes.

" Its all my fault Hermione. Sirius is gone… because of me."

"Harry, don't you dare blame yourself for what happened, it was no ones fault!"

"He died because of my stupidity."

" You did what you thought was right. Your heart was in the right place Harry." She placed her hand on Harry's shoulder.

"I put so many people in danger… I put you in danger and I thought I lost you. It scared me Hermione, it scared me so much."

"We put ourselves in danger. We didn't have to listen to you Harry. Your not responsible of taking care of me you know, I'm a big girl and can make decisions on my own. I choose to stay by you Harry, I couldn't just stand back and watch you do this all on your own. You mean so much to me."

Harry wished he could let Hermione know just what those words did to him. He felt his soul floating back to him. He needed to pull himself out of this state and he would do it all for Hermione.

"I'm going to be okay now Hermione."

He pulled her close to him and held her tightly in his arms. He loved how she just fit so perfectly in his arms.

"Are you sure?" She placed her head on his bare chest and listened to his heartbeat.

"Yes, thank you Hermione." He kissed her forehead.

****


	5. Chapter 5

Harry placed the letters neatly in one pile and moved on to the other items scattered around the tent. He picked up notes and homework, charts, drawings and cut out articles from the daily prophet. Harry noticed that they all seemed to contain Harry's name in them and one of the clippings was of Ron when the Weasley's took a trip to Egypt. He was curious as to why Hermione kept all these articles; he suspected it was some way of keeping track of their friendship and adventures. Harry's eyes fell upon an opened book. No it wasn't a book; it was a journal. It was Hermione's journal. Harry's eyes widened at the familiar neat handwriting, his heart hammered and his hands became moist as he picked up the large journal with jittery hands.

Close it Harry, she's your best friend. But what if there's something written about me? Wait, of course there's something written about me, we do so much together. Unless, she really doesn't think anything we do together is worth writing about. No Harry, close the journal. You'd be furious if someone read your thoughts.

Harry sighed heavily as he slowly began closing the journal, and then, he saw it. It just jumped out at him; it forced him to open the journal again. He didn't want to, he wanted to let Hermione have her privacy, but his name was written on that page. He would just read that one line, just to make sure it wasn't anything bad and then he would close the journal and put it back in Hermione's backpack and completely forget he even had the journal in his hands. Harry's eyes darted to the top right hand side of the page.

_July 18th 1996_

Harry's eyes moved down the page looking for the sentence with his name.

_I went over to the Dursley's home pretending to be a rehabilitation assistant at St. Mungo's who was checking up on Harry. I just couldn't take it anymore, I needed to find out what was wrong with him. I couldn't understand why he wasn't writing back to any of my letters and my nights became restless. He didn't want to tell me what was bothering him. I know he's hiding it to protect me, he just doesn't want us worrying about problems that he thinks are his own. He believes it is a burden he has to carry on his back alone, forever. I don't want him to be alone. I don't know about Ron, but I want to carry half the weight. He held me so close to him, but I felt like I wasn't close enough. I want him to kiss me… I need him…I love him._

Harry felt like he swallowed a stone. His already pounding heart felt like it was going to hammer right out of his rib cage and he couldn't breath. He just couldn't believe that the writing before him was Hermione's. He was overwhelmed with the amount of loyalty, devotion and love she offered him. Harry never thought Hermione would ever feel all the love, which he in return felt for her. It scared him to see her so fragile, so innocent; she was like a piece from a set of antique, hand painted china, which rested in the palm of his hand and relied on him to be gentle and not break her.

Harry's fingers skimmed to the early pages of the journal.

_February 5th 1989_

_Dear Journal,_

_I had another terrible day at school today. What happened? Well, it rained heavily last night so it was wet and muddy outside. I begged mom to give me a ride to school but she was already running late for work, so I had to walk. Not that I hate walking, I just hate walking to school. Two words… Jason Patterson. I was walking apprehensively waiting for him to jump out from behind a building and throw something at me or trip me from the bushes near the path. I'm convinced my knees are permanently scabbed from the constant pounding of them on pavement. It really was a beautiful morning. The sun was shining and the sun was already hot. My new dress swayed slightly in the light breeze and I was starting to think that maybe I got out early enough to dodge Jason. I was so wrong. His bike came racing from behind me, he steered into the biggest puddle of mud beside me, slammed on the brakes and skidded a whole wave of water and mud all over me. I just stood there shaking and my eyes started to well up as Jason's laughter rang in my ears. There was no point in going back home, there wasn't anyone there. So I went to school. They asked me who did it, who splashed me with all this mud. "I don't know who it was, it was an accident." I said calmly wiping off the dirt from my face. "Hermione.. Since your parents are at work, you can't go home and change. You can't sit like this in class dear. Unfortunately, we have only one option left. The 'Lost and Found' box." I opened the lid only to find a pair of rainbow colored spandex pants and a very, very large smelly boys orange t-shirt which fell down to my knees. I felt like a complete idiot with my nice black dress shoes, rainbow colored spandex pants that really were very small and an elephant sized orange t-shirt that nearly covered my knees and stunk like rotten onions and overdue milk. Need I say more about how people refused to sit at a 6-foot radius of me? Should I mention that I got pushed and shoved around? Do I need to re-live the fact that Jason himself grabbed me and stuck me head first into our lunch rubbish bin? If you think its possible... I smelled even worse then before. I keep trying to change him. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe he'll never change, maybe he'll always be Jason Patterson the PRAT! I want mom and dad to put me in another school. Of course I never brought up the subject to them before, I don't want them worrying about me and the only other school near the house has an even worse reputation then the one I'm attending. I wish there was some miracle to get me out of this mess._

Harry closed his eyes and ran a hand through his messy hair. He felt incredibly foolish and guilty for complaining about his life with the Dursley's. He never thought that Hermione experienced similar pain to his own. Harry actually preferred being at school then at the Dursley's home. Although he was extremely lonely, Harry was never bullied much (except by Dudley and his gang) because nearly everyone was terrified of him. He flipped to another random entry.

_December 11th 1990_

_Dear Journal,_

_Something strange is happening with me. I've gone to the library and taken out a whole stack of books to try and figure out exactly what I'm experiencing. I haven't told mom or dad yet, I just don't know what they would do. I just know it's not normal! I went to sleep in my bed… and I woke up on the roof!! I just couldn't believe it. I couldn't have possibly sleep walked up there, I would have fallen out my window and landed on my moms tulips planted below. I don't think I'm being possessed by demons. Although I think I did levitate up onto the roof, I don't seem to have any of the other signs of possession. I researched yesterdays wind currents and they were only 7 km an hour, not nearly enough to carry my sleeping body up to the roof. I'll just have to figure this out later on. I had that dream again. I go to bed, hoping I'll have it again and wake up angry because I don't see what I want to see… his face. The sun was setting with pinks and violets and I was standing on a dock. I was so much older. My hair not a messy tangle, but beautiful locks swaying gently to the light breeze. I was wearing a simple short white dress, which exposed my bare back, but I wasn't cold. I just kept looking off into the distance when a pair of loving hands touched my waist, they reluctantly let me go after a moment before returning to my neck where they circled and positioned a gold necklace with a heart shaped locket before me. My heart was hammering and I wanted to turn around and look into his eyes, but I was fixed to the spot. He then briefly brushed his lips against my neck and kissed my cheek. I turned around and… woke up. I don't understand what it means, I don't know if I even want to know the meaning. I just want to see who this man is. It's a shame that it's just a dream._

Harry longed to give Hermione the love that she craved. He secretly wished that he was the man in her dreams; no, not just the man in her dreams, the man of her dreams and more.

He took a fairly large clump of the journals papers and flipped forward.

_May 7th 1994_

_It's 1:30 am. I've decided to stop reading "Home Life and Sociable Habits of British Muggles" for today. I still have 200 pages left, but I suspect that I can finish it without a problem by Monday. I don't know how much longer I can stand taking all these classes at once. I'm just so exhausted, I don't have time for anything, It's an understatement when I say that I'm too tired to sleep. I wish I could have stayed in the Common Room and celebrated with Harry… and Ron, even though he wont talk to me. He's being so ignorant, it wasn't Crookshanks who ate his rat, I just know it wasn't. The truth is, if Crookshanks really was interested in having Scabbers for dinner he would have caught him a long time ago, but Crookshanks wouldn't, I just know it. Regardless of how angry I am at that red headed git, I feel sad for him; I wish he would push his stupidity aside and see that. I wanted to be a part of the celebration in some way, so I stayed in the Common Room trying desperately to shut out all the laughter and cheering so that I could get some studying in. I wanted to let Harry know in some way, that I was happy for him. I was pleasantly surprised when he decided to leave his circle of friends and admirers to come and talk to me. Not that I see Harry as someone who enjoys the spotlight and is shallow, I just didn't think he would notice me with all the excitement that surrounded him and the joy of winning the House Cup. I was more then astounded when Harry asked me if I had attended the Quidditch game… why wouldn't I? No matter how angry I get with that boy, there's no way I'd miss an event that means so much to him. I was a nervous wreck before this match started, it was nearly impossible to focus in the library with my books propped around me as my mind blurred with visions of Harry falling from his broom. I'm suppose to be the brightest witch in my year for Merlin's sake, and all I did was stiffen like petrified wood and gawk, as Harry's lifeless body sped towards the ground at an alarmingly fast rate. I could have lost Harry, I could have lost one of my best friends. I can't imagine what my life at Hogwarts would be like without Harry… Oh all right, and Ron too. I'd certainly be a bigger goody two shoes then I already am. Just between you, and me, I'm relieved those two make me break the rules sometimes, I just can't imagine Hogwarts without an adventure. I bet Harry and Ron would make me go to the hospital wing for Madam Pomfrey to examine my head if they heard me saying that. On another note, Draco Malfoy and some of his foolish friends got what they deserved at today's match. They decided they were going to try and frighten Harry by dressing up as Dementors, but it backfired because Harry scared the living pixies out of them after sending a Patronus straight towards their direction. He created a REAL Patronus, that's extremely advanced magic that even grown wizards have troubles creating. I think he really doesn't realize how talented he is. Well, I think I've had enough writing and I'm off to bed; Tomorrow is another day ahead of me filled with books, homework, studying and Ron taunting me about Scabbers. _

Harry remembered that day like it was yesterday, it was the day he had first set eyes on Cho Chang. She was very beautiful, but at the time Harry was too blind to see that his best friend who stood by him with a gleaming smile and sparkling Cinnamon eyes, was the most beautiful girl in the world. Since last year a Veela couldn't make Harry peel his eyes away from Hermione, she was gorgeous inside and out.

Harry's heart stopped when he realized it was time to go and meet her.

_What am I going to say? How am I going to tell her?… Uhhh hey Hermione, here's your backpack, I sort of accidentally looked through it. No… what am I thinking? I'll just not say anything at all… but what if she asks if I looked through it? Oh forget it, I'm just going to have to keep her backpack for another day, worry about it tomorrow, then I could read more of the journal… NO! I'm already in enough trouble as it is!… exactly, It wont hurt to take another peek since you already know how she feels! Okay, that settles it then, I'll just keep it for one more day._

****


	6. Chapter 6

Harry put her backpack and some of the things he hadn't organized neatly into his sleeping bag, he hoped Dudley wouldn't get snoopy again, but he remembered that he had already looked at just about everything. He wondered if Dudley had read that journal entry, he hoped that he had just skimmed through the journal without paying attention to what it said, since Dudley hated reading. Harry took what he needed with him and set off to the meeting spot. His heart rate quickened as his feet carried him closer and closer to Hermione. Harry reached the forked path, turned right and nearly jogged to the clearing ahead. His throat tightened and his mouth dried when he saw Hermione standing at the waters edge with her jeans rolled up a little so she could wade around in the cool water. Harry quietly placed his things on the sand, took off his shoes and socks, and grinned. He ran full speed at Hermione who had her back turned on him and scooped her up as she let out a gasp and screamed. She kicked her legs until her deep brown eyes rested on Harry's enchanting green ones.

"Harry, for Merlin's sake, are you trying to give me a heart attack?" she asked firmly, giving him a playful smack on the chest with the back of her hand.

Harry didn't reply; his grin widened as he walked deeper into the water with Hermione in his arms.

"Oh no, Harry don't, please Harry, please!" she begged.

"Please what?" Harry asked attempting to look innocent.

"Put me down Harry." She pleaded tugging at the collar of his shirt.

"Put you down?"

"Yes, put me… no wait… no, don't put me down Harry!"

"What did you say?"

"Don't put me down!"

"Oh all right, I'll put you down." He laughed throwing Hermione into the water as she screamed.

She emerged spitting water and brushing water from her cheeks. Her hair stuck to the sides of her face, making her big hazel eyes stand out even more.

"Harry James Potter, that was terribly mean!" she yelled splashing some water on Harry's face as he laughed.

Harry couldn't help but stare at Hermione's breathtaking figure. Her wet, baby blue shirt hugged her curves, sending shivers down his neck

Before Harry realized what Hermione was doing, she threw herself at him, knocking him off balance. Out of instinct, Harry took a hold of Hermione's arm and they both went tumbling into the water.

They both emerged spitting water, gasping for air and peeling hair from their foreheads. Their eyes met and they both broke out in laughter.

"Well, now that we're both wet and cold, I'll go start a fire so we can dry off and stay warm."

"Alright, I'm coming out too."

They both walked towards the waters edge. Hermione lunged at Harry; she decided she wasn't quite even with him. Harry landed on the soft sand where the gentle waves just tickled the shore and Hermione fell right on top pinning him to the ground.

"Gotcha!" she giggled. "Now, we're even."

Harry took a loose strand of Hermione's hair and brushed it behind her ear. She blushed as his hand gently caressed her face, welcoming her to lean forward. Hermione stiffened and her eyes grew wide, Harry could tell she was having a hard time swallowing and by the sound of her breathing, her heart was racing. She rolled over to Harry's side and cleared her " She cupped her hands to her mouth. "I mean, I mean,"

Harry ran a hand through his black messy hair.

"Yeah, I'll go start that fire." He said.

Harry ambled to the forest edge and began to gather dry sticks and bark while Hermione sat motionless in the water, biting her lower lip, clearly organizing thoughts and trying to make cense of the world around her.

_I ruined it, I went too quickly, and she wasn't ready for that yet… But she said she wants me to kiss her in the journal, why are women so hard to understand? Did she get second thoughts and decide that I wasn't kissable, or did she decide she didn't want to waste her first kiss on me? This is horrible! I have to try and regain her trust; I just have to take things slower… she needs time to think, this is Hermione._

Hermione stared at the colors of the sunset. The radiant oranges, the gentle pinks, the dark violets and the strips of yellow all blended together in the sky above her, like spilled paint. She finally pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged her wet jeans.

_Why did I pull away? I wanted those soft lips to press against mine, I wanted it to be Harry who showed me first love and to stay my first and only love forever… Get a hold of yourself Hermione, you know you don't want to loose his friendship, and a simple kiss can ruin it all. What if he had kissed you and his face broke into a cringe because he suddenly realized that kissing you… was like kissing a sister. Why would Harry want to kiss me anyways? He's always got loads of pretty girls surrounding him; he can have his pick… There's no way he'd choose the bushy haired, lets think things through before we act, bookworm. I'm sure he's been up in that astronomy tower late at night countless times locking lips with the school beauties, when I haven't even had a first kiss yet._

Hermione's thoughts were broken as two hands rested on her shoulders.

"Come on Hermione, I got a fire started."

He stretched out a hand to her. Hermione's eyes darted from Harry's hand, to his eyes and back to his hand again. She gave a slight sigh and allowed him to pull her back onto her feet. They walked quietly to the fire Harry had started.

"Uurrmm, Hermione… your, your…wet," Harry ran a hand through his hair again and looked at his sandy feet.

"I wouldn't be if you wouldn't have thrown me in the lake." She giggled.

"I'm sorry."

She pulled Harry into a hug.

"Don't be sorry, that was fun."

Harry's heart skipped.

"I… I don't want you to catch cold, so…you're going to have to take your clothes off."

"Harry!"

"No, no… that's not what I meant," Harry's face looked like a radish.

Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"What… I eerrr… I meant that I have some blankets here, and we should take off our wet clothes and let them dry by the fire."

Hermione burst into laughter.

"Harry, I knew what you meant silly… I was just teasing you."

Harry grinned and let out a sigh of relief.

"Well?"

"Well what?" Harry asked confused.

"Are you going to turn around so that I can take off these wet clothes and get under a blanket?"

"Right…sorry."

Harry turned around while letting fantasies of a wet Hermione in her undergarments dance through his head. Harry closed his eyes wishing Hermione would put her hands on his back, turn him around and allow him to kiss her loving, full lips.

"Okay Harry, you can turn around now."

Hermione sat bundled up in one of the blankets by the fire. Harry took off his wet shirt and his soaked jeans and placed them beside Hermione's clothes to dry. His face flushed as Hermione's eyes wandered from the tips of his toes and upwards until they reached his eyes.

Hermione had seen Harry shirtless once before, but he had been wearing pajama pants; now he stood before her with nothing but a pair of black, wet boxer shorts. Her heart couldn't help but briefly stop. She was thankful she was already sitting, because she was sure that if she had been standing, her knees would have buckled and she would have fallen to the ground in a heap. The light from the campfire highlighted Harry's muscular shoulders; she couldn't help but allow her eyes to travel back and forth over his finely toned body. Hermione was fighting the urge to just run up to Harry and burry her face into the side of his neck, to tell him all the emotions she was feeling, to glide her fingers over his bare skin, to tell Harry that she was hopelessly in love with him.

Harry cleared his throat and sat down on the opposite side of Hermione, in front of the fire. He wanted to sit beside her, but he thought it would make her feel uncomfortable and remembered his oath to take everything slowly with Hermione. Harry's eyes fell on her; she was biting her lower lip and had a light frown on her face, as if she was having an argument with her thoughts.

_Why did he decide to sit so far away from me? I think I sent him the wrong message, I don't want him thinking that I see him as just a friend. Do I follow my logic, or do I follow my heart?… Hermione it's time to stop thinking and start feeling._

Hermione wiggled to keep her blankets around her as she stood, walked over to Harry's side and settled herself next to him.

"I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable."

"I know, thank you." She smiled and placed a kiss on his cheek.

Harry grinned and reached over to place an arm around her, but stopped himself midway.

_Take is slowly Potter, she came over to you, you don't want her going back to the other side of the fire._

****


	7. Chapter 7

To Harry's surprise, Hermione leaned right into his arm and placed her head on his shoulder with a heavy sigh. Harry held her for quite some time before he released her and began rummaging through the things he brought.

"I'll make us something to eat, I bet your hungry."

"A little." She admitted.

Harry took out a frying pan, a sandwich bag full of finely chopped mushrooms, sausage and grated cheese, four eggs and some toast.

"I thought I'd make some eggs on toast for us."

"I didn't know you could cook Harry." She said with gleaming eyes.

"After living so long with the Dursely's, you have to know how to cook. It's one thing I'm grateful they made me do, I quite enjoy it."

Harry placed the pan over the fire with a couple of slabs of butter and carefully tossed the chopped mushrooms and sausage into the frying pan. He allowed them to sizzle before he added the eggs and the grated cheese. He used a spoon to stir the ingredients since he had forgotten a spatula. Harry slid the scrambled eggs from the frying pan onto a plastic plate and quickly placed the toast on the frying pan to let it lightly brown. He placed the spoon in the scrambled eggs and took two more plastic plates, where he placed two pieces of toast on each one.

"This smells delicious Harry."

"That's because it is." He winked and laughed.

"We'll see about that." She teased.

Harry allowed Hermione to place the eggs on her toast first and watched as she took her first bite.

"Oh Harry this is disgusting!" Her face broke into a frown.

Harry's hands shook and his face paled.

"I… I'm sorry Hermione… I don't know what I did wrong, it's just-"

Hermione clenched her stomach as she erupted in laughter.

"I'm just joking… its very good. Actually, you'll just have to make this more often for me now." She grinned from ear to ear.

Harry pulled Hermione close and started to tickle her through the blanket.

"Harry, stop, this isn't fair." She pleaded giggling and flaying her arms in an attempt to stop him. He pinned her hands down with one of his and placed a leg over her knees as his other hand continued to tickle her sides.

"Ahhh Harry, no stop, stop, please this is torture!" She laughed uncontrollably as she tried to kick out with her legs and squirmed her body in an attempt to escape.

Harry's eyes widened and he let go of Hermione as soon as he realized that the blanket covering her nearly bare body was bunched at her feet. He felt a cold sweat sweep down his spine and his breathing slowed but was much heavier. He backed up a couple of strides on his knees and covered his eyes, forcing himself not to pull his fingers apart to look at her beautiful figure again. The suns rays had lightly tanned her skin, her curves were even more noticeable without the wet shirt clinging to her sides and her legs were long and lean; Hermione was perfect.

Harry felt her soft fingers curl over his hands and she slowly removed them from his eyes.

"Hermione, I'm so sorry, I…" Harry's heart hammed in his chest.

"Shh, It's okay." She whispered taking his hands and guiding them to her waist.

She then glided the tips of her fingers up Harry's arm, up his neck, around his face and brushed a strand of hair from his soft emerald eyes.

"Hermione I... what I mean to say is,"

She placed her finger on his lips and leaned her face towards Harry's.

"Don't talk… just kiss me."

Harry's heart leaped to his throat and he felt his muscles tense, he leaned into Hermione and gently placed his lips on hers. The kiss was innocent, it was two lips pressing against one another; it was two souls being joined for a quick beautiful moment. Their kiss was simple, just like their relationship had been for so many years, but that sweet simple kiss meant more then words could ever express and it would change their lives forever.

They pulled apart from one another; they touched foreheads looking into each other's eyes, memorizing the moment. She wrapped her arms around him and ran her hands down his back, her eyes left his as her lips explored his neck, he let a moan escape from his mouth. She lightly dug her nails into his bare back, as if she was begging for him to feel her. He responded by gently lowering her to the sandy surface and showering her stomach with small kisses, which teased and made her giggle with delight. Harry needed to feel those lips again; he towered over her slender body and allowed himself to be hypnotized by her almond eyes. Hermione's hands plunged into his messy hair and her fingers tangled into the pool of jet-black strands, slowly pulling him forward into another kiss. Her lips were so full, so tender and much softer then he had ever imagined, her skin felt like silk; he needed more, he wanted more. Harry glided his tongue across her lips hoping to be welcomed inside; she opened her mouth slightly allowing him entry. Her mouth was warm and sweet. She held back a little at first unsure of this new sensation, but was soon overcome by emotion and she began to kiss Harry deeper, colliding her tongue with his, moaning, calling his name in between breaths, and arching her back, pressing her delicate body against his.

Harry knew what was coming next, he couldn't allow it to happen, not know; she wasn't ready and deep within he knew he wasn't either. It was Harry's turn to be responsible and stop this wonderful event from going any further, and Harry knew he would have to do it gently.

"Hermione?" He managed to mutter before she thrust herself against him.

Harry had to clench his teeth as all the blood in his veins rushed madly from his head downwards.

"Uh huh?" She asked nearly out of breath before she kissed him again with her swollen lips.

He forced himself off her and carefully pulled her into his chest so that her back was pressed against him. He wrapped his arms around her and whispered into her ear.

"Hermione, listen. I… I… want something like this to be perfect, and yes, it is perfect right now, but, I just want us to, to take things just a little bit,"

"Slower." She finished for him.

"Yes slower, and not because I don't want us to do this. I just, I, I care about you so much Hermione."

She turned to face Harry and ran her fingers through his hair.

"Thank you for being so careful with me Harry, I'm sorry I got carried away. I don't want to regret anything I do with you. I wish I could look you in the eyes right now and tell you that I'm ready to give myself to you, I know my heart says I am, but I just, I mean… you're my first love Harry."

Harry's heart skipped a beat and he grinned. He was so thankful that Hermione wasn't angry with him and his heart melted when she said that he, Harry Potter, was her first love.

She memorized his face with her fingertips and kissed him like there was no tomorrow. Harry felt her tremble from the nightly chill in the air and pulled her into himself. He reached over to the crumpled blanket and wrapped it around his back and her front. They sat before the crackling fire, content to be silent for the moment and reflect on what had just happened.

"What do you think Ron will say?" She questioned after their moment of silence.

"I reckon he'll think it was about time we got together."

"Why would he think that?"

"Why wouldn't he?"

" I, I just, I mean he might feel a little awkward that his two best friends are dating one another."

"Trust me on this one Hermione, he wont."

"What makes you so sure, what if he feels like he doesn't fit in?"

"First of all, it would be our turn to make him feel awkward after all his open make out sessions with Luna Lovegood during our serious discussions,"

Hermione laughed.

"And secondly, well, that's a secret."

"Oh come on Harry, tell me."

"Maybe one day, for now my first answer will have to do."

Hermione sighed and decided not to argue the issue any further. She knew Harry would tell her when he was ready and no amount of pleading would make him change his mind.

"Harry?"

"Hmm?"

"Where's my backpack?"

Harry rubbed the side of his neck with his hand in a nervous fashion.

"I, uh, I'm sorry Hermione, I, I… I forgot to bring it with me." He lied.

Harry's stomach flip-flopped, he felt sick that he couldn't and didn't tell Hermione the truth about her backpack and her journal. He wanted to, he was about to, but he just couldn't form the words into a sentence.

"That's okay Harry, but I really would appreciate it if I could get it back tomorrow."

"Okay." He managed to say.

"I really should be getting back now, it's getting really late." She said starting to get up.

Harry's hand fell gently on her delicate arm.

"Stay, just a little while longer, please?" He pleaded.

Hermione looked into those eyes, into those emerald green, persuasive eyes. They needed her; it felt so good to be needed.

"Okay Harry, but only for a little while longer, Alright?"

Harry didn't answer as he gathered her back in his arms. She leaned her head back to rest on his steady shoulder, sighed and didn't think her life could get any better.

**_ (There's more coming.. I'm almost done writing the next chapter, I hope you enjoyed the fic so far and I'll write as fast as I can)_ **


	8. Chapter 8

**(I just finished writing this chapter today, it went through a lot of cutting. It was very funny, but it just didn't fit in with the fic so I had to change it quite a bit, I hope you still enjoy it regardless)**

She was standing on a dock, her beautiful, brown glittering hair not a tangled bushy mess, but soft curls which gently danced in the moist breeze. The waves from the lake were gently patting the edges of the doc, swaying the platform in a steady slow motion. Her white dress followed the movement of her hair. Her figure wasn't that of a young teenage girl, it was the figure of a woman. The sun was setting in the horizon filling the sky with pinks, blues, oranges, yellows and violets, like spilled paint across a large tapestry. The view was beautiful, it was breathtaking, but her eyes were not taking in her surroundings, they were glossy and lost in thought, lost in the emptiness that filled her soul. It felt like the most important piece of her had been missing; she looked everywhere but couldn't find it. A pair of hands wrapped around her waist, soft lips kissed the side of her cheek as warmth swept over her face. The loving male hands let go of her momentarily before they returned, sweeping over her shoulders. She felt him circling a thin chain with a locket around her neck. She knew the locket was heart shaped, and she knew it was the missing piece of her heart that longed to love and be loved. She turned to meet the man's eyes. He was wearing a white collared shirt, which he hadn't tucked into his black trousers, and he left several buttons undone, but his appearance made her heart race. Her eyes wandered to his. His magical, emerald green eyes, which she knew so very well, were soft and shimmered in the last minutes of daylight, his jet black hair ruffled in the wind making his already messy hair look even more untidy, it took her breath away. He pulled her close, his scent caused thousands of shivers to cover her body; it felt like a million fingers caressing her delicate skin. His strong hands rubbed her back as tears began to form in her eyes and soothing words were whispered into her ear. She loved this man, she loved him for so long that it hurt; she needed him. She gently loosened their embrace and looked Harry James Potter in the eyes again before allowing herself to melt into his soft kiss.

Harry attempted to open his eyes to the blinding morning sun. He wanted to get up, but his body felt heavy. Harry pulled an arm to his eyes as his mind raced to try and understand what was happening. His eyes finally allowed him to see clearly as they focused on a figure sprawled across his chest. The sight of bushy brown hair automatically registered to Harry that it was Hermione. He wanted to jump back, but didn't want to wake her from her peaceful sleep. Harry could feel her chest moving up and down in a steady motion against his own chest, their feet were tangled together and Harry was still in his boxers, while Hermione was still in her bra and underwear.

_We must have grown tired and fallen asleep together._

Hermione stirred in her sleep and let out a sigh of comfort and content. The scent of her hair intoxicated Harry, it was such a spicy cinnamon scent; it made Harry want to wake her and kiss her senseless. Her hand brushed across Harry's chest as she began to wake, she raised her head and with squinting eyes she looked at Harry as confusion spread across her face.

"Good morning beautiful." Harry smiled.

Hermione gasped and jumped from his chest.

"H,Harry we, we didn't just?"

"Relax Hermione, we just fell asleep together, look, you still have your knickers on."

She blushed, then a mischievous grin spread across her face.

"I do have my knickers on hey?" she teased as she straddled him and gently sat down on Harry's stomach.

"What are you implying Miss Granger?" Harry laughed wrapping his fingers around her slender waist.

"That I'm going to kiss you for being such a gentleman." She laughed.

He moved one of his hands from her waist, caressed her chin and pulled her forward for a kiss. It was a gentle kiss full of emotion and love.

"So, what was it like spending a night next to the boy who lived?" Harry laughed.

"OH MY GOD, I STAYED THE WHOLE NIGHT!" Hermione pushed her hands into her bushy hair, as if she had just experienced a sudden migraine.

"OH MY GOD, MY PARENTS, THEY'RE GOING TO KILL ME!" She scrambled off Harry and began to franticly gather her clothes that had dried overnight.

Harry propped his head on his hands and watched Hermione with a smile.

"What are you smiling about, its not funny Harry!"

"Oh, but your Hemrione Granger, you'll wiggle yourself out of trouble." Harry teased.

She gave him a large grin and pulled her blouse over her head.

"What?" she asked looking at Harry's dazed eyes as she slipped into her jeans.

"I cant get over how beautiful you are."

"Oh Harry, stop teasing me."

"But I wasn't teasing Hermione, your breath taking."

Hermione blushed. She went over to Harry and planted a quick kiss on his lips and then one on his cheek.

"One more." Harry insisted.

She smiled, and they touched lips again, at first it was gentle and innocent; then the passion erupted as their lips collided and their tongues tangled together.

When their kiss had finished, they were both left with bruised lips but neither of them cared, they would do it all over again if given the chance.

Hermione walked back to her camp with her lips pulsing and heart swelling with love. She didn't know what she was going to tell her parents; she bit her lower lip as her mind quickly began to search for a proper excuse. As she approached the camp, she heard many voices talking amongst each other. Her eyes widened with horror when she saw several uniformed men and women with their canine companions and her mother crying into her fathers shoulder as he slowly rubbed her back while carrying a conversation with one of the men.

_Oh no, this is much worse then I thought, they think I'm lost, what am I going to do? Relax Hermione, just breath, you can twist yourself out of this one just like Harry said._

She stepped out into the clearing and made her way to her parents.

"Mom, dad, what's going on?"

Her mother gasped, raised her head to look into her daughter's eyes and flung herself onto Hermione sobbing even harder then she had been seconds earlier. Her father furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Hermione in such a disappointed manner, it made her heart sink.

"Well sir, it looks like you won't be needing us any longer. I was quite right when I told you that it happens often and the kids end up turning up to camp in the morning." The man whom Hemrione's father had been speaking to earlier reached out his hand to Mr. Granger.

"I'm sorry to take up your valuable time sir, and we thank you very much." Mr. Granger answered shaking his hand

"Not at all sir, we were happy to assist you and your wife, and we are more then happy to see your family reunited. Oh, and I'll be seeing you in a few days Mr. Granger, I'm due for a checkup." He smiled and motioned for his team to leave.

"I'm so happy your safe, we were so worried sweetheart." Her mother spoke through sobs lifting herself from Hermione and cupping Hermione's face in her hands.

" Explain yourself, this is so unlike you Hermione. We're both very disappointed with you, not to mention how embarrassed we are to have caused such a commotion with the park rangers."

"I'm sorry. I really am very sorry." Her heart was pounding and her eyes became glossy.

"Where were you?" Mrs. Granger asked brushing some sand from Hermione's bushy brown hair.

"I, I," she took a deep breath, she knew she couldn't tell her parents the truth, even though she wanted to. She was sure her parents did many silly things in the name of love. " I went to finish my homework like I said I would, I just lay there on the warm sand looking up at the stars and taking notes every so often, but then my eyes got heavy and I drifted off to sleep. I didn't even get to complete my homework for Astronomy."

"Is that all Hermione?" Her father questioned. His disappointment drifted into the morning sun as a soft expression filled his face.

Hermione nodded.

Mrs. Granger swept Hermione into her arms

"Oh Hermione, we're not angry at you, we were just extremely worried about your safety."

"I'm okay mom, remember I'm a strong… well you know what I am, and I always carry my," she paused for a minute looking around to see if anyone was looking or listening "_wand_." She whispered.

"We know Hermione, but that doesn't stop us from worrying about you." Trevor said calmly.

"Mom, dad… can I go back and finish my homework for my Astronomy class tonight?" Her parents looked at one another "I know I'm asking a lot, but this is really important to me."

"Hermione," Amelia began.

"Please."

"I'm sorry Hermione, but no. You will still have some time before school starts to finish your homework when we return home." Mr. Granger answered.

Hermione knew better then to argue with her parents, they were right, she didn't have any reason to finish her homework during their camping trip. She would just have to find another way of seeing Harry tonight.

"Okay daddy, you're right, I should just enjoy myself."

"How about some breakfast, your father can make some of his famous pancakes." Amelia Granger grinned at her husband.

"Of course I can, anything for my two favorite girls in the world."

Trevor Granger stepped between his wife and his daughter; he placed one hand on Hermione's shoulder and one hand on his wife's shoulder, sneaking in a kiss for Amelia, before leading them towards the table near their trailer.


	9. Chapter 9

**(Hello everyone.... well here it is... a new page! I know it doesn't seem like much, but I worked hard on it and I also have College now so its taking me longer to write! I hope you enjoy!! R/R for insperation!! and in case your wondering.. yes there will be more journal entries for your enjoyment! Have Fun... Take Care!)**

When Harry finished making the porridge, he served a bowl to each of the Dursley's and sat himself down on the grass a short distance away from them. He was expecting his uncle to suddenly start questioning Harry about his whereabouts and why he hadn't spent the night in his tent, but that didn't happen. Mr. Dursley flipped through an old newspaper, Dudley studied his television and Mrs. Dursley glanced through the House and Home magazine. Harry ate his breakfast as fast as he could and then snuck back into the tent, eager to wrap his fingers around Hermione's journal.

He looked into the foot of the sleeping bag; there it was, propped up beside her pink backpack. Its hard, black, leather cover with large golden letters marked H.J.G across the center reflected in Harry's eyes. Her words, her thoughts, her emotions and the memories were like a drug to Harry; he wished he could keep the journal until he could read every single entry. Each page was a new adventure into Hermione's heart and he was greedy to know more about her and maybe a little bit more about himself.

_November 1st 1995_

_Everything always happens to Harry. Two days ago the Goblet of Fire chose its Champions. Victor Krum: He's from Durmstrang He's a famous Quidditch player and has his own signature move called the Wonky Faint. It was interesting watching him play at the Quidditch World Cup. The second champion is Fleur Delacour: She's from Beauxbaton She's part Veela. I don't like her very much… she's rude and seems to have a hint of arrogance to her (something I really can't tolerate). Ron is a complete mess around her and it frustrates me because all he sees is her beauty and doesn't see how she treats others, in other words, he's being shallow. The third Champion is Cedric Diggory from our school: He's from Hufflepuff, he plays Quidditch (he's a Seeker just like Harry) and the Hogwarts girls seem to be giving him just as much attention lately as Krum receives on a daily basis. They're acting quite silly is you ask me… getting Cedric and Krum to sign various items like schoolbags, t-shirts and… wait a minute, I was like that with Lockhart wasn't I?_

Harry laughed at Hermione's late realization.

_Anyways… There were suppose to be only three Champions from each school, but something strange happened and the Goblet of Fire gave Hogwarts another champion… Harry. I know Harry wasn't pleased with the age restriction that was placed for becoming a Champion and I know he had tried to get his name into the goblet several times along with Ron, Fred and George… but when I saw the look on Harry's face when Dumbledore called his name, I knew something wasn't right, I needed to have a talk with Harry. Ron was absolutely furious with him and I thought maybe it would quickly pass, I was hoping Ron would go to bed and wake up the next morning, Harry would tell Ron what happened and things would go back to normal. That didn't happen… This morning I woke up early, I couldn't sleep, so I decided I would get an early morning start and get myself some breakfast at the Great Hall. I couldn't believe when I saw Ron all by himself at the Gryffindor table, with a charms book propped up in front of him picking at a cresaunt. This is going to be a bad argument, Ron was reading, he never reads… even when he has to! So much for me hoping things would work themselves out… I sat down next to him and dropped some casual conversation and got some smart remarks in return, something along the lines of… "Morning Ron." "Hi Hermione." "How are you?" "How am I? She asks how I am? I thought you were suppose to be smart Hermione." "Care to tell me what's bothering you?" "Nothing really… only that my best friend found a way of entering himself into the tournament and didn't care enough to let me in on the secret, only that my best friend is lying to me and that my other best friend… yes, you Hermione… has to ask me what's wrong when she should bloody know!" "Ron, lets just talk to Harry when he comes down for breakfast and hear his side of the story." "I'm not going to talk to him." "Your not?" "No I'm not Hermione, now leave me alone." "Okay Ron, I guess I'll talk to you later." "Fine." … I took some toast in a napkin and set off for the common room to talk to Harry. I thought maybe he was going to attempt hiding in his bed, but I nearly ran into him as he was climbing out of the portrait hole. His hair was definitely messier then usual, he was slightly pale and I knew he was praying that I wouldn't react the same way Ron did. We walked around the lake eating toast and just talking… I wish Harry opened up like this more often, I like talking to him one on one, understanding his feelings and just being there for him._

Harry sighed. There's so much that he wanted to tell Hermione and Ron. He always kept it to himself because he didn't want them worrying about him, but they, or at least Hermione, seemed to worry about him more when he didn't tell them his secrets.

_I don't know how long we just walked and talked, but my legs did hurt a little after our conversation… I think I have to remember to wear comfortable shoes when having a private conversation with Harry ha, ha, ha. Well, I really got carried away today and I should be getting some sleep… so that's all I'm writing._

Harry flipped the journal's pages forward.

_November 14th 1995_

_"Harry has found love at Hogwarts. His close friend, Colin Creevey, says that Harry is rarely seen out of the company of one Hermione Granger, a stunningly pretty Muggle-born girl who, like Harry, is one of the top students in the school."_

_That was a quote from the Daily Prophet dated November 12th 1995. I think that Skeeter woman needs to borrow Professor Trelawney's thick glasses for a day if she thinks I'm "stunningly pretty" I could nearly care less what Pansy Parkinson thinks of me, but its not just a handful of Slytherin girls making rude and hurtful remarks… its coming from all houses alike. I walked into the girls bathroom (well one of them anyway) and a whole group of girls from different houses were discussing the article, they were trying to keep their voices low and obviously hadn't noticed that I walked in on them, not that it would matter if they did notice, I'm sure they would carry on anyway… It was something along the lines of… "You MUST be joking, Harry, in love with HER?" "That's what it said in the Daily Prophet" "Was it in the humor section?" "Rita said she was 'stunningly pretty' Do any of you agree?" "I sure as hell don't… I think Rita Skeeter was dropped as a young witch far too many times, if you ask me" "I agree, Granger is sure to die a virgin" "What do you think Harry sees in her?" "An easy target." "That's not funny Clarissa, you know Harry wouldn't do something like that!" "Why not?… I kind of like the idea of him being naughty." "You guys are just too obsessed. I don't think Harry's interested in her at all. You're forgetting that Rita Skeeter lies a lot." "That's true, she did lie about Granger after all." They all laughed._

_At first, I was going to go inside and not let them bother me and let them say anything they want… but it hurt, I wanted to run, but my feet where glued to the floor. I wanted to hide in shame, shame of who I was, of who I am. I left the bathroom and put on a brave face… for Harry. I cried about it that night, I didn't want anyone to see me or hear me and I knew that I had to stay strong for Harry. Ron and him still aren't on speaking terms, I know it's tearing them both inside out (of course, they're both too proud to talk it over… boys) and he's also being teased about that Skeeter woman's article. I'll get her back for it one of these days… I don't have many people on my 'hate' list, but she's making her way to the top fairly quickly. I really needed to get all this out and now that its out I do feel a lot better. Tomorrow I'm going to attempt (yet again) to get those two talking again, I hate being caught in the middle!_

Harry couldn't believe the injustice Hermione received. He knew that Pansy had made several rude comments about Hermione's appearance, but she was part of Malfoy's group of friends and it was expected that she would open her big mouth and say something hurtful, but Harry never dreamed that girls from other houses had been so terrible to her, and she managed to cover it all up and stay strong for him? She had always been such a good friend, and he, Harry had taken that for granted on several occasions. He would make it up to her and he promised himself not to complain about doing homework or studying with Hermione ever again. Harry was furious that other girls thought Hermione wasn't pretty, but then he grinned to himself and remembered that Hermione wasn't pretty, she was absolutely beautiful. He wondered who the girls were and what made them think that Hermione would die a virgin. The only reason the male population wasn't flocking to her like bees to honey was because they feared Harry.

He had walked in on a conversation in the Boys Dormitory once and the subject was Hermione, her long slender legs and what they would like to do with her in the library (or anywhere) at night. Harry then used a series of colorful words and threats to get his message across; no one touches Hermione, if they do, they get an encounter with his wand. The message must have spread across Hogwarts quickly because the usual boys who would follow Hermione and wait for her to drop something, stopped their routine. He wondered how Hermione hadn't noticed them before, but was glad she didn't because he had her nearly all to himself. He felt guilty about it, but it gave him hope that maybe one day she would look at him in a different light and see him as a man, not a boy with a scar.

It was worse when Ron began dating Luna. He was very happy for both of them, but when they held hands, shared affectionate stares and kissed with a burning passion, he would have to restrain himself from doing the same to Hermione, who often sat right beside him.


	10. Chapter 10

**(Thank You for being ever so patient with me. As a reward I'm giving you guys TWO pages to read and yes there's more coming, please R/R its very much appreciated and keeps me inspired to write as quickly as I can. I hope you enjoy these! Take Care everyone!!) **

Harry skimmed through the next few entries.

_November 23rd 1995: …I spent every minute of my free time practicing spells with Harry. Tomorrow is the First Task; it involves getting past dragons and Harry needs to use his broom, so we practiced the Summoning Charm. We practiced and practiced until two in the morning. He's got that spell so down pat, I'm absolutely sure he could do it in his sleep. I'm so worried that he's going to get hurt, and so proud of him at the same time… _

_November 24th 1995: …YES!! HE DID IT, HE DID IT!! Harry summoned his broomstick from his room all the way to the grounds and got the golden egg from the Hungarian Horntail dragon! I think I know what Harry feels like when he wins a Quidditch game! He's tied with Krum for first place and what's even better? I have my TWO boys back (they're talking again, it was about time too!) We're a trio again… Harry is happy… and I'm relieved that Harry didn't get hurt too badly. I'm also… I'm… overwhelmed with strange emotions I've never felt before. I hope I'm not ill and that it'll pass soon because I can't afford to not be myself; there's so much schoolwork to be done, the Second Task is in three months and I need to find a way to raise more interest in S.P.E.W. _

_December 16th 1995: I'm nearly speechless. I went to the library this morning to do a bit of light reading, I decided to search "A Century of Triwizard Tournaments; A Collection of Champions and their Tasks" written by Alice Beebee Redmond in the hopes of finding a clue for that golden egg (I found nothing) and as usual Viktor Krum casually strolled into the library. This time however, he took a quick look around and made his way towards… me. I thought nothing of it until he asked if he could take the seat next to me when the whole table was completely empty. After some simple small talk he… he asked me to go with him to the Yule Ball. Now let me get this straight… plain, simple, boring, bushy haired, me… was just asked out by a famous Bulgarian Quidditch Player? Someone please smack me over the head with a textbook and tell me that I'm dreaming… I was fairly sure that the only way I'd go to the ball was if Ron asked me to go (as a friend of course). I know Harry wouldn't because he's got his eyes completely set on Cho Chang. I agreed to go with Viktor because he was the first who asked and secondly because I think he deserves a proper chance… I'm ashamed to admit I had judged his personality unfairly. _

_December 25th 1995 _

Harry made himself more comfortable on the sleeping bag. He was looking forward to reading this entry.

_Happy Christmas! What an exciting day it was! As tired as I am, I knew I had to get this old journal out and write about the Yule Ball, how could I not? I hadn't told anyone who my date would be mainly because I wanted to show Viktor that I value his privacy and a little part of me wanted to surprise my two boys. I had no idea Ron would react the way he did… How could he even imagine that I would betray Harry? My friendship to Harry (and his, for that matter) means so much more then any date or boyfriend ever could, I know him for four years of my life now. No one could know me as well as Harry does…No…not even Ron. Don't get me wrong here… Ron is like a brother to me, dearly loyal and a true friend…even when we do have our differences. This is exactly what I was telling Viktor earlier, Harry and I, we have this bond… I can't explain it, but I feel it. Anyways, back to Christmas and the Yule Ball. I woke up this morning at six in the morning, my nerves got the best of me and deprived me of my much needed sleep… but thankfully my eyes weren't puffy or red and I sure didn't feel tired, I just had a lot of butterflies. I opened my presents… Mum got me a new photo album and had already taken the time to put a few pictures of Harry, Ron, me and some other students and teachers in some of the slots. Thankfully she left the labeling to me. Daddy got me a few novels (he never breaks his tradition) "Gone With the Wind" written by Margaret Mitchell, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, which are both written by Jane Austen. Harry got me Charm with Charms Edition 3 by Matilda Gavenforrow and a new all color ink quill, Ron got me a box of chocolate frogs and a schedule planner, Hagrid got me Creatures and Beasts of the New Century by Arnold Yerling, Viktor gave me a lovely necklace to match my dress with a note asking me to wear it (he really is sweet), and of course I received my usual bag of sweets from Mrs. Weasley. It was rather difficult to eat my breakfast, Harry didn't eat much and Ron would ask me every so often (with a mouthful of food might I add) who was taking me to the Yule Ball. After lunch I went to watch my boys have a snowball fight and then it was time to get ready for the ball. It took forever to do my hair, but I was determined to do it all by myself, no one was going to see me until the ball…I'm not sure why I felt this way. I was so nervous, that I had to take a few minutes to just fan myself and take deep breaths to stop the shaking of my hands. Viktor's reaction gave me a little more confidence, he said I was beautiful, but I still worried what Harry and Ron would think or if they would even notice a difference. We joined the crowd of Champions and I spotted Harry and Parvati coming towards us, I probably shouldn't be saying this about a best friend, but he looked so handsome. His hair looked like he had just gotten off his broomstick after a casual flight, his emerald green dress robes completely matched his eyes, which brought them out even more and he carried himself the way he always does…casual and proud. I couldn't help but feel my heart flutter when he spotted me and those eyes widened and jaw dropped, he looked positively adorable… I mean… Harry looked good and so did Viktor. The evening was wonderful, the food was delicious and I never thought Viktor could be such a graceful dancer. I tried to teach him my name, but had to settle on being called Herm-own-ninny, _

Harry remembered watching Hermione facing Krum and slowly saying "Her-my-oh-nee" She glanced at Harry and they shared a secret grin. At that time he wasn't sure why he felt all squirmy inside, he was too blind to realize that Hermione meant more to him then just a best friend. If he could turn back the hands of time, he would have asked Hermione to the Yule Ball.

_ he told me a little about his school and I wish he could say more… I've always tried learning more about other wizarding schools, unfortunately, not much is printed. Ron was absolutely furious with me the whole evening, I've come to a realization and I don't feel comfortable with it… I think Ron likes me. I mean… I know he likes me as a friend, as a best friend…but this is definitely something more then just friendly or brotherly feelings. I'm a little confused about his actions, but he was more then a little jealous of Viktor. I feel guilty saying that I don't return those same feelings for Ron. He's like a brother to me and I just don't think our relationship would be a positive one. We already bicker enough as friends (like we did tonight, that argument was what made me realize that Ron likes me THAT way, otherwise… why would he care so much about who I'm dating)… I couldn't imagine how much we would bicker as a couple over stupid, little, insignificant things. I don't want to hurt Ron, so I'm just hoping his feelings for me will pass and move onto someone more suitable for him… he deserves a better relationship then what I would offer him. I best get myself to sleep. This night will stay in my memory forever. _

Harry looked at his watch. He still had plenty of time before he would be meeting Hermione, so he adjusted his position on the sleeping bag and continued to skim through Hermione's journal.

_February 24th 1995 _

_Last night, as Ron and I were helping Harry figure out a way to breath underwater, we (Ron and me) were told that Professor McGonagall wanted a word with us. I was afraid that maybe it was because we were helping Harry with his tasks, that wasn't the case. It turns out that I was the item that Viktor would most miss and Ron was what Harry would most miss, we were going to be part of the Champions second task. I was more then surprised that Viktor would miss me most out of the many possibilities. I knew Ron meant a lot to Harry…I don't know why, but I was a little sad that Harry's first choice would be Ron, not that I hadn't expected it. I think Professor McGonagall sensed what I was feeling… she put Cho Chang, Fleur's little sister and Ron under a spell, leaving me last. Before she put me under the spell she spoke a few words…"Miss. Granger, I know what was going through your head when you realized that Ron would be what Mr. Potter would miss most. The truth is… it would have been impossible to choose between you and Mr. Weasley because you are **both** what Harry would miss most **together**." She gave me a small chuckle and said, "Of course, he doesn't realize that just yet." I don't remember anything after that until I was awakened when Viktor had taken me to the surface of the lake, once I got out I was wrapped up in thick blankets and given a potion to drink. Viktor asked me to visit him over the summer in Bulgaria, it sounds like a good opportunity, maybe I will. After my short conversation with Viktor, I waited for Harry. I was wondering what was taking him ages to get out of the water and what he had managed to do about swimming and breathing underwater. Oh, that Harry James Potter, he really does have a saving people thing… (Me, I don't mind it… in fact, I think it's a great quality he has… however, I worry that it'll cause him to get hurt one day) he was the first to arrive and he was the first to free the merpeople's hostage (Ron) but he had taken the song seriously and wanted to make sure everyone would be safe. Harry is tied with Cedric for first place. I should have been cheering for Viktor and Harry together, but… I cheered for Harry. _

_June 24th 1995 _

Harry's heart sank and he suddenly felt sick. That was the day of the Final Task, the day Cedric had died, the day Voldemort came back into power and the day he came ever so close to loosing his life to the dark wizard yet again. In a way he wanted to read Hermione's entry to get a better feeling of what she was going through, but he just wasn't ready to re-live that day. Not through a journal, in a tent, alone. When he would be ready to unlock his memories, it would be with his two best friends to offer words of wisdom and some comfort.

He decided he would read just one more entry before closing the journal for good and returning it to its proper owner. 


	11. Chapter 11

_July 1st 1995 _

_The first day of summer vacation! It feels good to be back home in my own room in the company of mum and dad. It had been a difficult year and I can't imagine how Harry must be feeling after what he had just gone through and having to go back to those horrible relatives of his. We arrived from Hogwarts yesterday; it was such a beautiful day without a single cloud in the deep blue sky. Before the Hogwarts Express arrived, Viktor wanted to speak to me privately as I imagined he would. "Herm-own-ninny, you know you are very special to me. Please promise me you vill vrite to me." "I will Viktor, you know I will." "I really had a vonderful time here at Hogvarts and I'm very glad I had the opportunity to meet you." "I'm delighted you enjoyed yourself, I hope I'll be seeing you again and thank you for taking me to the Yule Ball. It meant a lot to me." He smiled at me and took a moment before he spoke and said, "He is a lucky man." "Who is?" "He is foolish for not noticing you." "Who Viktor?" "But he deserves you." "What are you talking about?" He raised an eyebrow at me "Harry Potter." "Harry, oh no, no Viktor we're just friends." I felt my cheeks grow hot. "You speak of him all the time." "Yes but that's because he's one of my best friends, I've known him for four years of my life," "And Ron Veasley?" "What about Ron?" "You don't speak of him like you do of Harry." "Of course I do, I don't know what you're talking about." He rested his large but gentle hands on my shoulders. "You know vat I am talking about Herm-own-ninny." "It'll never work Viktor, he'll never look at me like that." "Yes he vill…your beautiful." I felt my cheeks lift as a silly grin spread across my face. "I don't want to loose his friendship." "You vill change your mind von day Herm-own-ninny, you vill see." He kissed my forehead and waved goodbye. I looked over to where Harry and Ron were standing. Ron was craning his neck in an attempt to spy on Viktor and me, while Harry was enjoying the weather, lost in thought. I had a lot to think about myself during the train ride back to King's Cross. When we arrived, it was time to say goodbye to everyone and go home. I don't know what I was thinking exactly, or why I had done it, but I kissed Harry…Harry Potter, on the cheek after saying goodbye. Maybe it was that look in those shining emerald green eyes. The look of bravery, courage, hope and… and…love. Maybe it was his messy hair that made him look a bit rugged in a good way, or maybe it was the way he smelled of fresh soap and Quidditch or the way he casually, yet proudly carried himself…Oh Merlin!… I think I'm falling in love with Harry. _

Harry chuckled to himself. He was quite amazed that Hermione had begun to discover what she felt for him in their fourth year. It had taken him quite a bit longer, but he didn't have anyone to point out the obvious to him before, except maybe Rita Skeeter. The trouble was, Harry never listened to a word coming out of her mouth or from her articles for that matter. He did wish however, that he had taken her "advice" on dating Hermione. Harry sighed and closed the journal with a gentle thud. He looked at the cover and traced his finger across the golden lettering H.J.G. when a sudden thought came into his mind. He took one of Hermione's quills, an inkbottle and flipped to the last entry of the journal.

Once the Grangers had eaten their dinner and cleaned up after themselves, they sat around the campfire together, and entertained one another with games they used to play when Hermione was attending regular school. The games were usually witty and often challenged Hermione's intelligence, but they were also a part of her great success as a student and encouraged memorization skills. Although most children or young adults would normally complain about these types of games, Hermione enjoyed them immensely.

"Hermione, how about denouement?" Mr. Granger asked.

"Oh that's an easy one. Denouement is the outcome of the plot of a piece of literary work." She grinned.

"Very good dear. Alright then, your turn."

"Mum, how about Galax urceolata?"

" I believe it is a plant of the south western U.S. It has spikes of small white flowers."

"Oh you were _so_ close mum, it's the south eastern U.S. not the south western."

"Oh your right. Do I at least get half a point?"

They all laughed together.

"How about we let you have that half a point and we save this game until tomorrow. Hermione you wouldn't mind if your mother and I took a walk around the lake?" Mr. Granger asked shooting Mrs. Granger a mischievous look.

"Of course not. Its such a beautiful day I think I'll go explore a little."

"Alright, you be careful sweetie and be back before dark young lady." Amelia Granger warned in a sarcastic tone.

" Okay, you two kids have fun."

"We will!" Trevor called out to his daughter before she disappeared into the trees.

When she arrived at their meeting spot, Harry was waiting for her. He added extra wood to the blazing fire and noticed her standing a few feet away from him.

"Hey."

"Hey." He replied stuffing his hands in his pocket. "Come and sit down by the fire with me."

"Okay." She grinned and hooked her arm around his as they walked towards the campfire.

"Did you bring my backpack?" she questioned.

Harry's heart leapt to his throat.

" Yeah its, eerrr, right over here." He said pointing at it.

"Good," she smiled. "There's something I want to show you."

Harry ran a hand through his hair and prepared for the worst. His heart hammered faster then the sound of a humming birds wings and he could feel the sweat forming on his forehead. He heard Hermione unzip her backpack and sent out a silent prayer that she wouldn't notice that someone had gone through her backpack.

"This…this isn't how I left my backpack." Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked through the compartments. "Everything is out of place."

Her eye's fell on Harry's guilty face.

"You… you did, didn't you?" Anger began to flood her face.

"Hermione… I, I… look, I,"

"I trusted you!" She spat through clenched teeth.

"I honestly, I… It was… an accident."

Harry had never seen Hermione this angry.

"An accident? Oh now I understand…you accidentally opened my backpack and went through my things. How could I have been so stupid… an honest mistake Harry, really please _do_ forgive me." Her tone was sarcastic and almost deranged.

"Hermione… if you would only just let me explain."

"Okay… you have five minutes of my time, no less no more... understand?"

"If you just open and read your journal it,"

"WHAT?"

Harry jumped. If Hermione had been angry before, she was absolutely furious now.

"YOU… OH NO... YOU DIDN'T… YOU WOULDN'T DARE."

"H-Hermione, please… please try to understand,"

"UNDERSTAND? UNDERSTAND WHAT? THAT YOU RUMMAGED THROUGH MY PERSONAL THINGS AND INVADED MY PRIVACY, NOT TO MENTION WENT ON AN ADVENTURE THROUGH MY THOUGHTS? … How much did you read?"

"Errrrr… a lot… but it doesn't matter," He reached out and touched her arm.

"Don't touch me." She tore herself away from his grasp.

"Hermione… this is silly, it's just a journal." He said calmly as he touched her arm again in an attempt to get her to look at him.

_SMACK. _Hermione's hand collided with the side of Harry's cheek.

"Ow!" Harry yelled cupping his cheek with his hands.

She gasped and her face softened for a minute before her forehead wrinkled up; she looked serious and angry again.

"I said… don't touch me." She attempted to say sternly but her voice shook.

Harry rubbed the side of his face.

"I guess I deserved that."

Hermione's face softened again as she broke into tears.

"Oh Harry I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you."

Harry gathered her into his arms.

"Shh, its okay Hermione. I shouldn't have read your journal, I'm sorry too… please don't cry."

She gently pulled away from Harry, sniffling she looked at his face. His left cheek was noticeably pink and as she brushed her fingers across it, she knew it was sore.

"Harry,"

"You sure are strong. I can't imagine how Malfoy felt after you punched him." He said with a small laugh.

"You better put some cold water to it, it'll make the redness go away."

"It's not important right now, I want you to take out your journal."

Hermione gave him a searching look, but obeyed his request. 


	12. Chapter 12

**(Well... yesterday I gave you two new pages to read, and thanks to the quick inspiration I got from my reviews I sat down and worked on a new page and finished it! I know its short and I wasn't expecting it to be but I like this one and I hope you guys do too. My next entry may be my last depending on where this fiction will take me, its nearly done and I'm excited and yet sad at the same time because I had so much fun writing it. Thank You for all the reviews! I'll try and get the final part to this fan fiction as soon as possible! Take Care everyone!! oh and H/H FOREVER! ) **

She held the hard, leather covered journal and sat down cross-legged next to Harry. She looked at his swollen cheek and she bit her lower lip in concentration.

"Wait… I'll be right back." She said placing the journal in Harry's lap.

Harry watched her as she searched through her backpack and then made her way to the waters edge, he wondered what she was up to. Her hair glistened a wonderful autumn brown color with hints of blond in evening sun and her skin looked so soft. He found himself wishing he could touch her face or arm, just to see if it really was as soft as it looked. Hermione made her way back to Harry rather gracefully despite the sinking sand and he felt a cold sensation on his left cheek where she placed a wet towel.

"Its my face towel," She smiled as Harry welcomed her gesture "I usually just keep my toothbrush, hairbrush and face towel in my backpack when I go camping. It's just easier that way because my backpack goes everywhere with me."

"That backpack of yours is like a first aid kit… you could survive World War Three with that in hand." Harry laughed as he motioned for Hermione to take the journal and open it.

She held the journal in her delicate hands and sighed as she flipped to the last entry.

_August 16th 1996 _

_Dear Hermione,_

_ I'm writing this to tell you something I was much too ashamed to tell you in person. I know you'll be extremely angry and disappointed in me, but maybe you could find it somewhere in your wonderful heart to forgive me. I had taken your backpack with me to my tent and left it on my sleeping bag… okay, I was curious to see what you might have inside but I told myself that I couldn't do something like that to you and left to eat my dinner. When I came back to my tent, I found Dudley surrounded by your things… he got nosey and went through your bag. I really didn't have much choice but to put your things back in your bag and hope that you wouldn't notice. But… that's not all Hermione. As I was putting your things away, I came across this journal, it was opened and I was honestly not going to read it until I saw my name on that page. I know now that I should have closed this journal and left your privacy, but I wondered what you wrote about me so I decided it wouldn't hurt if I just read one line. That one sentence captivated me so much that I just had to find out more… your writing was like a drug and the more I read the more addicted I became to your words. I know it's not fair that I know your thoughts and feelings so I'm promising you now (if you still want to be my friend that is) that I will sit down with you and tell you all my secrets and fears. For starters, I'd like you to know that my time with you here at the lake is the best thing that has ever happened to me and I don't want things to change… I love you Hermione Jane Granger._

"I love you." He said as her shimmering, tear filled eyes met his.

" I love you too."

"Do you forgive me?" He asked gently brushing her tears away with his fingers.

"How could I not?" she questioned. "I'm sorry Harry, I should have listened to you when you tried to explain what happened, I had no idea your cousin,"

"Shhh," He placed a finger to her full, soft lips "don't talk… just kiss me."

She gave him a beautiful toothy grin before their lips met.

Harry kissed her with all the love he ever felt for her and he felt her returning the same passion. It wasn't long before Hermione was slightly opening her mouth, pleading for entry. He gave her what she wanted and they both embraced one another, allowing their hands to explore each other as if they were holding each other for the last time.

Hermione gave a hollow gasp as Harry's lips trailed around her neck and the tiny hairs on her back jumped when he whispered,

"I love you so much Hermione… we'll be together forever." 


	13. Chapter 13

**(I've finished yet another page! I told you it would be smooth writing from the journal entries on because I don't have to keep referring to the books. I think this is probably my favorite page that I've written for this fan fic... I'll let you guys judge that for yourselves though. Please R/R It's much appreciated and as you can see. The fiction is slowly coming to an end. I hope you enjoy what I've done with it!! Take Care!)**

She was standing on a dock. Her beautiful, autumn brown, glittering hair with traces of blond was not a tangled bushy mess, but soft curls that gently danced in the moist breeze. The waves from the lake were gently patting the edges of the doc, swaying the platform in a steady slow motion, like a mother rocking her baby to sleep. Her white dress followed the movement of her hair. Her figure wasn't that of a young teenage girl, it was the figure of a woman with curves in all the right places. The sun was setting in the horizon filling the sky with pinks, blues, oranges, yellows and violets, like spilled paint across a large tapestry. The view was beautiful, it was breathtaking, but her eyes were not taking in her surroundings, they were glossy and lost in thought. A pair of hands wrapped around her waist, soft lips kissed the side of her cheek as warmth swept over her face. The loving male hands let go of her momentarily before they returned, sweeping over her shoulders. She felt him circling a thin chain with something attached around her neck. She turned to meet the man's eyes. He was wearing a white collared shirt, which he hadn't tucked into his black trousers, and he left several buttons undone, but his appearance made her heart race. Her eyes wandered to his. His magical, emerald green eyes, which she knew so very well, were soft and shimmered in the last minutes of daylight, his jet black hair ruffled in the wind making his already messy hair look even more untidy, it took her breath away. He pulled her close, his scent caused thousands of shivers to cover her body; it felt like a million fingers caressing her delicate skin. She loved this man, she loved him for so long that thoughts of loosing him caused the greatest pain; she needed him. She gently loosened their embrace and looked Harry James Potter in the eyes again before allowing herself to melt into his soft kiss.

"Its so beautiful here," Her fingers trailed to the chain around her neck and then to the object attached to the chain. "What is this Harry?"

Harry's breathing slowed, he took her hands in his and knelt down on one knee before the one woman he could see himself growing old with.

"Hermione Jane Granger... will you make me the happiest wizard and man alive by taking my hand in marriage?"

She gasped; his words took her breath away. As she took the object around the fine chain in her fingers, she now recognized that it was a ring. Tear's filled her eyes and the most heart warming, loving grin spread across her face.

"Yes Harry, yes... I want to be yours forever."

Grinning, he gathered her slender body in his strong hands and twirled her three times and placed her gently back down.

"Mr. Potter... you always manage to sweep me off my feet." She giggled.

"I'll never stop." He smiled and kissed her gently.

"Harry?" She bit her lower lip.

"Yes?"

"Was this your... did you... my journal?" she asked.

"Yes Hermione. I remembered this from your journal. Are you angry that I did it like this?"

"No Harry... its perfect... I just thought... no its silly." She looked away.

He took her face in his fingers, which asked her to look in his eyes.

"Tell me."

She hesitated for a moment.

"I just thought that maybe dreams do come true. This was in my dream and I thought... just maybe that you hadn't read this and that it just happened."

Harry smiled, his piercing emerald green eyes danced with joy.

"Dreams do come true Hermione. I have you."

She held her breath for a moment, brushed a loose strand of jet black hair from his eyes and kissed him with everything she ever felt for him; she kissed him for his words, she kissed him for his touch, she kissed him for being her best friend, for his love and for making her complete.

"I love you Harry James Potter."

"I love you too Hermione Jane Grang-"

She put her finger to his lips and gave him her best pouting face.

He grinned and his chest filled with pride when he realized what Hermione wanted him to do.

"I love you too Hermione Jane Potter."

She sighed in relief and rested her head on his chest.

"When do you think our wedding should be?" she asked.

"Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? ...But Harry there's so many people to inform and plans have to be made."

"Its all done Hermione. Your mum and Molly did most of the planning together... Ginny, Ron, Luna, your father, Arthur and I, helped with everything that needed to be done for the wedding. All that was missing was a bride."

"Oh Harry that's wonderful."

"Your not angry at me are you?"

"No... not at all. This is just so perfect. I would have been so stressed."

"That's why I decided to do it this way. You had so much happening at work that I thought we would take the weight off your shoulders and surprise you."

"This is the most amazing day ever." Harry felt her tremble slightly.

"Wait until tomorrow. I hope you'll like it."

"I know I'll love it Harry."

He took her hand in his and began to lead her towards the house.

"There's one thing that we do need your help with Hermione."

"And what would that be?"

"Molly is upstairs in the master bedroom with a dress that needs to be fitted. She said that she's fairly sure it'll fit perfectly, but she would like to see it on you before the wedding, just to make sure."

She threw her arms around Harry and kissed him again.

"Thank you Harry."

Harry watched her go up the stairs.

"I love you." He called before she disappeared from view.

"Love you too." He heard her say loudly.

Harry sighed as he made himself comfortable on the couch in front of the blazing flames that danced in the fireplace.

_She said yes... she wants to marry me. I'll have a wife tomorrow, a wife. Hermione Jane Potter... it sounds good I think._

He glanced over to the small wooden lamp table near the couch where several framed pictures stood. His eye's trailed from pictures of the trio during their school years, to pictures of Hermione and him alone and rested on a picture of his mother and father waltzing. His fingers curled around the picture of his parents and he brought it closer to his face to examine it better.

_You'd like Hermione. Dad... you'd probably say how much Hermione reminds you of mum and mum would laugh but would secretly agree. I wish you were here to plan the wedding... Mum, you'd probably pick out the most beautiful dress for my bride and dad would throw the best wedding party. Sirius... you won't be at the wedding either. I miss you so much. I wonder if you knew that Hermione and me would be together._

"Harry... Are you okay?" She rested a hand on his shoulder and her deep brown eyes looked concerned.

"Yes... and no. I just wish,"

"I know Harry... I know you think of them often and I know you wish they could be with you, especially tomorrow. You have to remember Harry... your not alone. Your mum and your dad will be with you at the wedding... they're in your heart and always will be. Also remember that you do have a family who accepts you as their own son... they love you Harry."

Harry's throat tightened. She was right, like she always was.

"Hermione?"

"Hmm?"

"Would it be okay if both your father and Arthur walked you down the isle?"

"Oh Harry, that would be a wonderful idea. He's always been so good to me too. I just don't know how my father would take it."

"He said it would be just fine with him, that it was up to you."

"Well then it's settled."

Harry grinned and then he looked mischievously at Hermione.

"What?" she asked.

"Are you going to tell me how sexy your dress is?"

She laughed.

"Oh no... it's my turn to have some secrets from you."

"Oh is that how it's going to be?"

"Yes it is Mr. Potter."

"Fine then... No kisses for a week."

"You have to kiss me tomorrow." She grinned.

"Say's who?"

"The priest."

"Oh right... I forgot about that little detail. Well then I'll just have to make the punishment more complicated."

"And how exactly are you going to do that?"

"No wedding night."

"Really?"

"Yes really."

"Oh okay... that's not so bad then." She laughed.

"Oh you... you... little witch!" He said pulling her down on the couch and tickling her.

"No, Harry, stop... not fair... stop," She wiggled her body in an attempt to escape, and managed to pin Harry's hands to the side of the couch.

"Ha!" She called out in triumph. "This little witch can do tricks."

"She better know how to beg for forgiveness." He stated sarcastically as he freed a hand and started tickling her again.

"tisk, tisk, tisk... the two lovebirds can't wait until their wedding night."

Harry peered over the side of the couch.

"Hey Ginny... couldn't help myself. This beautiful lady is just too irresistible." He grinned.

"Draco?" Harry heard footsteps and saw Malfoy appear at Ginny's side "Are you taking notes on what Harry's saying? If you don't start saying sweet things like he does... I might just un-marry you." Ginny teased as she straightened Malfoy's tie.

"I don't need sweet words Gin... I have things to offer that Potter will never have." He laughed.

"At least I have the better broomstick Malfoy." Harry winked and Hermione giggled.

Harry motioned for Ginny and Draco to join them.

"Not bad Potter. You're getting better with those comebacks over the years." He took Ginny under his arm and joined Harry and Hermione on the couch. Harry went to the cabinet and poured some drinks.

"Never thought I'd be a married man before you Potter."

"It's the only thing you managed to beat me at." He laughed handing Draco his drink when both the ladies declined the alcohol.

"So why is there no bachelor party?" Malfoy asked.

"After Ron's bachelor party, your bachelor party, Neville's bachelor party, Fred and George's bachelor party... I think I've had enough of them to last me a lifetime. Not to mention Hagrid's bachelor party." Harry and Malfoys face turned to a look of disgust.

"Now that was just disgusting and really disturbing." Malfoy shook his head.

Harry laughed as Hermione gave him a frown.

"What did happen at those bachelor party's?"

"Trust me Granger... you don't want to know."

"I think you'll have to change our nicknames Malfoy." Harry grinned, "She's not going to be Granger for much longer and you can't go around calling both of us Potter."

They all laughed.

"You could just call them by there real names Draco." Ginny suggested.

"Are you kidding babe? That would spoil the fun... no, just kidding. I guess I'll have to call you by your first names starting from tomorrow. But until then," Draco raised his glass. "To Granger and Potter. May this relationship be as happy as it always has been."

"Thank you Draco." Hermione smiled.

"No problem. Listen, Gin and me have to get going. We'll see you at the wedding." Malfoy said taking Ginny under his arm and placing his glass on the lamp table. "Thanks for the drink Potter. Don't fool around too much kids, you need your sleep for the big day and even more energy for the big night."

Harry and Hermione lead Draco and Ginny to the door and saw Molly coming down the stairs.

"Hey mum." Ginny smiled.

"Evening Mrs. Weasley." Draco nodded.

"Ginny dear... I didn't know you'd be stopping by. Good evening Draco, how many times do I have to tell you to call me mom?"

Malfoy's pale skin turned a gentle pink.

"When I've earned your trust and respect." He said softly.

There was an awkward silence.

"Well, we better go. Thanks for letting us drop by Harry, we'll be seeing you both tomorrow." Draco and Ginny left through the front door as Mrs. Weasley was getting dressed into her coat and shoes.

"Thank you for everything Molly." Harry said as he helped Mrs. Weasley into her coat. "Listen... Hermione and I made a decision and we'd like you to tell Arthur about it for us okay?"

She looked from Harry to Hermione with a puzzled expression.

"Of course dears, what could I do for you?"

"We already talked to Hermione's father and we've decided that we would be honored if Arthur and Trevor Granger both walked Hermione down the isle together."

"Oh no... we couldn't do such a thing."

"No Molly... you don't understand. You and Arthur are like a family to us and you've been like a mother to Harry and me too." Hermione explained.

Mrs. Weasley's eyes filled with tears. She opened her bag and pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes.

"It would be Arthur's pleasure to walk you down the isle with your father Hermione." Molly managed to say through small sobs.

They said goodnight to one another and Mrs. Weasley gave each of them a tight squeeze and a kiss on the cheek before she too left through the front door.

The house was now quiet, but in a relaxing manner. Hermione eagerly went over to the bookshelf and found herself something to read. She settled herself down on the couch by the lamp table where she flicked the light on and began to read. Harry settled in beside her and rested his head on her lap; this was a regular ritual. Hermione would read her books, and stroke through Harry's hair, only pausing to flip a page and Harry would watch her read. Her face was always content and concentrated and sometimes she would bite her lower lip or raise an eyebrow. At times, he asked her to read to him and she would grin with pleasure and read whatever she had in her hand.

The house they were in was a vacation home Harry had purchased with some of his parents fortune and some with his job as an Auror. It was a beautiful old fashioned home that always had the smell of fresh wood and the most beautiful view of the lake from the patio. An elder couple owned it before Harry. They spent many precious years together in the home; it was always filled with love and joy. The woman had grown ill the past year and needed to be closer to immediate medical attention in case of an emergency; with a heavy heart they had to sell this wonderful house. The lake was the same one that brought Harry and Hermione together so many years ago; it held a special place in both their hearts.

A soft thud brought Harry back from his thoughts. He realized Hermione had stopped stroking his hair and the noise he heard was the sound of Hermione's book slipping out of her hands. Harry lifted himself up gently and found Hermione fast asleep, he grinned to himself. She looked so innocent and beautiful beneath the lamplight and the occasional flicker of the flames in the fireplace. He gathered her in his arms and carried her to bed where he gently pulled her socks off her feet and tucked her under the covers.


	14. Chapter 14

**(Yet another page for my readers. I'm surprised I had gotten this much written because I've been so busy with attending my labs at school, but I was in the mood so I wrote quickly. I know I say this every time, but I really think the next page will be the end of this fiction, but It could possible take another two pages to wrap it up, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see where it takes me lol. I also said there would be no sequel to this fan fiction, however, that may change because I recently had a really good idea for a sequel!! R/R Please... reviews are greatly appreciated! Take Care!)**

Morning rays of sunlight peeked through the window curtains and warmed Hermione's cheeks; she placed a hand to her mouth as she yawned. Her fingers traveled across the smooth bed sheets to Harry's side and her eye's fluttered open to see her companion. He was already out of bed, but his spot was still warm. She grinned, knowing what he was up to; she moved from her side of the bed to his and pulled the covers up to her neck. She wanted to drown in his fresh, sweet smell forever. It caused her heart to skip a beat and made her feel completely intoxicated. Every time she looked into his magical, shimmering emerald green eyes she would fall in love all over again and she couldn't help but feel like a silly giggly teenage girl whenever he flattered her with compliments or flowers. It was just so easy to love Harry Potter. She sighed and wondered if yesterday had been just an unforgettable dream. She should have pinched herself to check, but so much had happened yesterday that she just didn't have time to stop and think about it.

"Morning beautiful."

She had been so lost in thought that she hadn't noticed Harry standing in the doorway. He was wearing sweat pants with a small towel slung around the back of his neck, his hair was still wet and a lopsided grin completed the perfect picture. He was well toned, with visible abductor muscles on his stomach area, a well-defined chest and strong arms. Hermione enjoyed watching him run along the banks of the beach. He had made exercise a part of his routine when he had joined the local Quidditch team, she made it a point to never miss a game and she sometimes came to a team practice.

Harry wondered what was floating through Hermione's head. He knew she was thinking about him because the look on her face and in her expressive eyes, gave her the characteristics of a sixteen-year-old girl who just experienced love at first sight. She looked like an angel, with her soft autumn brown curls cascading gently down the mountain of white bed sheets and the down filled cover. He sauntered over to the bed, sat at the edge near Hermione and placed a tray he had carried into the room on the bedside table.

"I made breakfast for my stunning fiancé." He smiled and placed a kiss on her cheek.

She reached her left hand to her right arm and gave it a quick pinch just to make sure it wasn't all a dream and that she wouldn't be waking up any moment, disappointed that it wasn't real. She felt the slight pain from the pinch and knew that it couldn't be just a dream. Her heart soared at the idea of being Mrs. Hermione Potter by the end of the day.

The smell of fresh cinnamon and brown sugar waffles drifted through the room and made Hermione's mouth water. It had become Harry's ritual to go on a morning jog, take a quick shower and give her breakfast in bed. Occasionally, she would wake herself before Harry returned from his jog and prepare him a breakfast to return the favor and show him how much he meant to her.

"Mmm smells good sweetie."

"That's because it is." Harry replied with a grin.

"We'll see." She teased.

"You have to learn how to take my word for it." He said gently handing her the tray.

"No I don't... I'm an independent woman." Hermione grinned.

"Oh is that so? ... What would you do without me?" He questioned in a mocking tone.

"I'd live," She took a sip of her orange juice. "The real question is...what would you do without _me_?" She laughed.

"Hmm, you have a point there. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you and If I did manage to stay alive by some miracle I'd be a broken heart without you."

Her face fell into a soft, loving expression and she beckoned a finger for Harry to come closer, he did as he was told and received a nectarous, succulent, heavenly kiss.

"I defiantly wouldn't be able to live without you." Harry grinned.

"I love you Harry."

"I love you too baby. Now eat up because we have an important day ahead of us."

She nodded. He cuddled next to her watching her eat and every so often, she would take something from her plate and bring it to his lips for him to enjoy. He wanted his life with her to always be this incredibly bliss, filled with so much love, passion and emotion. He knew there would be ups and downs, that was just a part of life, but he was more then willing to make sure that the love between them would last until his dieing day.

"Your thinking about us, aren't you?" She asked wiping the corners of her mouth with a napkin.

He gave her a lopsided grin and nodded.

"I found something I've been meaning to show you." She said placing the tray on the bedside table and pushing the covers off her legs. She walked over to one of the mahogany closets and opened a drawer. She pulled out a dusty, black, hard, leather covered book and carefully handed it to Harry. He blew the dust off the cover and immediately recognized the golden lettering on the front cover; it was Hermione's journal.

"Where'd you find it?" Harry asked tracing the familiar H.J.G. printed on the cover.

"My mother had found it when she was cleaning my old room, it was under the bed." She smiled.

"To think this journal brought us together, what are you going to do with it?" He questioned.

"I want you to have it Harry." She answered placing her hand on Harry's.

"You know I couldn't do that Hermione."

"I have nothing to hide from you and I know how much you enjoyed reading it, since you bought time to keep my journal for an extra day." She giggled.

"Thank you Hermione." He said taking her fragile hand up to his lips and giving it a gentle kiss. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Why didn't you ever put any spells on it?"

"I did Harry. When I was in school I used a locking charm in case one of the girls got snoopy and a hex that would indicate who did it, but outside of school I never thought I'd have to use a potion to protect my privacy. Obviously, we couldn't use spells outside of Hogwarts. My parents never went through my personal things and as you know, I don't have any siblings." She answered calmly.

"I'm sorry I hurt you like that."

"I'm glad you did, who knows how long it would take us to tell each other the truth, or if we ever would."

"Luna and Ron were planning on playing matchmaker in our seventh year." Harry grinned.

"You're joking." Hermione laughed.

"No... they were getting sick of watching us stare at one another and tune out everything they were saying to us." Harry chuckled.

"Well they never talked much when they were together, they were too busy lip locking." She giggled.

"Do you think they'll have a son or a daughter?"

"I have no idea. Luna wants a son for Ron." Hermione answered.

"Really? That's interesting... Ron wants a daughter for Luna."

They both laughed.

"Luna's fairly large, that baby must be getting heavy to carry around." Harry said.

"Luna said it was like carrying around two bludgers in her stomach. The baby is constantly kicking and moving around."

"It sounds like that baby will be a great Beater." Harry laughed.

There was a silent pause between them as they both stared at the journal's cover.

"Open it to the last entry Harry." She instructed.

He looked at her with a quizzical expression, when she nodded he opened the journal and flipped to the last entry, she smiled.

_April 3rd 2004_

_My Dearest Harry,_

_I love you with my heart, my soul and with every breath I take. You are my reason to live, my burning flame of hope in the dark, frightening world, and my melody of comfort. With you I am ready to face hills, valleys and mountains that are placed before us in an attempt to break the bond of two lovers. As long as our hearts stay as one and our fingers stay tangled together, those mountains will be hills, the valleys will be dried ponds and the hills will be just slight inclines in the earth's surface... nothing is difficult when I am with you. Never forget that I am with you no matter how much distance may attempt to separate us. We are two fireflies dancing beneath the crescent moon's light; together we will guide one another through the winding roads of life. I love you Harry James Potter and nothing can ever change that. _

_Tomorrow is our wedding day; I will be your wife and you my husband. I can't express the ecstasy pulsing through my body, the sheer joy of being addressed as Mrs. Potter and how much your proposal touched every corner of my heart. The excitement rises in my chest and tightens my throat, as we face another journey together. I love you Harry James Potter and nothing can ever change that._

_I will take every opportunity to say those three words that make my heart flutter and don't express enough about how I feel... when I say them they are not meaningless words that leave my lips, when I say them you must know that my heart tightens and my cheeks still feel warm although the pink color no longer fills them... I have no reason to be embarrassed about feeling what I do, I love you Harry James Potter and nothing can ever change that. _

His bright emerald green eyes looked into her cinnamon brown ones, his eyes filled with tears and began streaming down the sides of his face, a lopsided grin reassured her that his tears were ones of joy. She sat down on his lap and wiped some tears with her soft fingers, then wrapped her arms around his neck and allowed him to rest his head on her steady shoulder.

"I love you Harry and I don't ever want to stop saying that."

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to cry," He began. "But its just... what you wrote, it was so beautiful."

"I meant every word and I don't want you ever feeling sorry for something like that. You have a big heart Harry... that's one of the reasons why I love you." She smiled whispering gently.

"Did you write that last night?"

"Mmm Hmm." She nodded stroking his hair.

"You have to promise me you'll write something in this journal once in a while."

She giggled.

"No I'm serious Hermione."

"Okay, okay... I promise."

He lifted his head off her shoulder and studied her face, his right hand traveled to her spicy brown hair and played with the gentle curls. She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath of air. His left hand cradled her right cheek, her eyes fluttered open. She was instantly mesmerized and allowed herself to be hypnotized by his youthful expression and his sage colored eyes. His hand traveled from her spicy brown hair to her womanly curves and rested on her hip where he pulled her a little closer. He could feel her steady, warm breath glide around his face; her fingers caressed his back.

"I love you Hermione."

Without haste their lips touched, gradually the passion deepened and their tongues touched in a compassionate dance.

There was a knocking from below and both Harry and Hermione jumped in surprise.

"I'll be right back." Harry said giving her a kiss on the forehead. He made his way out the bedroom door and down the stairs.

Harry turned the lock and opened the front door.

"About time mate, its time to get ready for your big day. Your coming with me to my place and Luna's going to help Hermione here." Ron spoke while Luna nodded.

"She's upstairs Luna, if you need anything just use the floo network okay? ... How are you feeling?"

"It's up and down Harry, but the kicking is getting worse and I feel like a balloon." Luna answered.

"You look lovely." Harry added as she stepped inside.

She gave him a warm smile and a kiss on the cheek before advancing up the stairs.

"Hey Luna... what about me?" Ron called.

"You have to deserve it first Ronald." She grumbled back.

Ron took a deep breath and counted from five to one.

"You okay Ron?" Harry asked.

"I don't know how much more of her mood swings I can take. This morning I gave her apple juice instead of tea and buttered toast instead of plain and when she was saying that she's going to look terrible and fat for the wedding, I said she looked fine and she just burst out in tears." Ron answered running a hand through his flaming red hair.

"It wont be much longer Ron, just keep telling her how much you love her and make her feel special."

"I do. But I guess I'll have to try harder." He grinned. "Lets apparate to my place."

"Can I put something else on first?"

"There's no point, you need to put on a tux anyway." Ron pointed out.

_"_Right... alright, I'll meet you at your place." Harry answered taking out his wand and giving it a quick wave.


	15. Chapter 15

(A big thank you to all my readers for being so patient with me and for giving me such positive reviews for my first fanfiction. I will continue to write fan fic's because I had such a wonderful time creating this story! I'm a little sad that its come to an end, but at the same I'm excited because I will be able to start a new journey. As some of you know, I do have an idea for a sequal to this fan fiction and I may explore that route in the near future, but for the moment I would like to begin an idea that I have had stored up in my head for a long time now! Thank you to all my friends and reviewers!! R/R it is greatly appreciated... Hope you enjoy)

Hermione heard slow footsteps making their way up the staircase.

"Harry... is everything okay?" Hermione questioned apprehensively as the footsteps came closer to the bedroom door.

"Its just me Hermione. Harry went with Ron to our house. Its time to start getting ready for the wedding." Luna said appearing in the doorway.

"Oh Luna, you shouldn't be climbing those stairs!" Hermione made her way towards Luna and helped her sit down on the bed.

"I'll be fine. Ron hasn't allowed me to do any walking at home so it's nice to stretch my legs again. I can't wait to get this baby out of me." Luna sighed.

Hermione placed her hand on Luna's stomach and gently rubbed.

"Hello little one, you get to come to your aunty Hermione's wedding. Don't kick your mummy so much today, she needs some rest." Hermione grinned.

"Are you excited?"

"Excited, nervous, blessed." Hermione answered.

"I know exactly how you feel. I remember my wedding day like it was yesterday." Luna grinned.

"Your wedding was wonderful Luna, you looked so beautiful."

"It was a dream come true, you wont be sorry Hermione. Harry's a good man."

"I know." She said patting Luna's hand. "Just like Ron is to you."

Luna nodded. Her eyes looked at the clock on the bedside table.

"We better get your hair and makeup done and then we better put you in that dress and get you to the wedding." She shooed Hermione into the bathroom for a shower.

Moments later Luna heard voices below as Mrs. Weasley, Ginny and Mrs. Granger arrived by Floo Network.

Guests began to arrive at Harry's vacation home left, right and center. It was a large get together of old and new friends, family and their children. The sky was a clear blue with few clouds, the sun provided a comfortable temperature, flowers blossomed leaving wonderful scents in the gentle breeze and a choir of birds sang with joy. Harry planned for the wedding to be on the beach in the same place that they had shared their first kiss and nearly made love. At first, the Granger's weren't pleased with the idea because they had always imagined their daughter to have a proper wedding in a church with all the glamour, but they eventually warmed up to the idea when they realized how happy Hermione would be at this type of wedding. The guests were all transported from Harry's vacation home to the beachfront chapel, by horse drawn carriages.

"This vill be a vonderful vedding Harry, I am honored to be your guest." Viktor Krum shook Harry's hand before entering the carriage followed by a beautiful woman who just smiled and nodded.

"I'm glad you were able to make it Viktor, Hermione will be pleased to see you again."

"Ve vill speak later Harry, good luck vith your vedding." Krum answered before the carriage began to move.

Harry felt a gentle tug on the left side of his tuxedo, his eye's met two large silver gray ones. She had short strawberry blond hair, soft freckles covered her nose and upper cheeks and a wide grin revealed little pearly white teeth.

"Hello little Mabel, where's your daddy?" Harry asked picking up the little girl as she giggled with delight.

"I'm right here Harry." Harry spun around carefully to face Draco. "She's not easy to keep track of."

"She's growing like a weed Draco, she'll be attending Hogwarts before you know it." Harry laughed handing Mabel to Draco.

"Yeah, but I'm a little worried... she hasn't shown any signs of magic yet." Draco frowned slightly. "By the time I was her age, whenever I sneezed it always caused something to happen."

"Don't worry, she's just a wee one still." Harry reassured Draco with a pat on the back.

"Where's your best man?"

"I suspect Ron's getting an earful from Luna about one thing or another." Harry laughed.

"Oh its not funny Potter... just wait until it's your turn... pregnancy makes these ladies vicious." He spotted Ginny coming towards them. "Of course, I don't blame them. Having babies is a lot of stress and pain."

"Yes it is... maybe you could have our next one Draco." Ginny giggled.

"Are you saying we could have a second?" Malfoy teased giving Ginny a loving kiss.

"Only if you'll be the pregnant one." Ginny laughed taking Mabel from Draco's arms.

Draco shrugged and gave Harry a pat on the back. "Good luck Potter, don't screw up your lines."

"Yes good luck Harry." Ginny added before they entered one of the horse drawn carriages. "Just wait until you see Hermione. She looks gorgeous."

"See you guys later... You be a good girl Mabel okay?" Harry said as the little girl waved to him.

The guests were all settled in their seats at the beachfront chapel talking quietly amongst one another, Ron was at the front with the priest and Harry swaying from his heels to his toes; he had the same ill look on his face that he had before his own wedding.

"Take it easy Ron, it's not _your_ wedding... its mine." Harry whispered.

"My two best mates are getting married to one another, how can I _not_ be nervous?" Ron mumbled back. "Why aren't you nervous?"

"Because... well... it just feels so right. No matter what happens I'll always be with Hermione, I can't picture my life without her, so there's nothing to be nervous about." Harry whispered back. Yet deep down inside his stomach tingled in nervous reaction and he hoped this day would be perfect for Hermione, he wanted to see her toothy grin and hear her laughter ring in his ears.

Harry adjusted the fly on his tuxedo and took a quick glance at how wonderful the beachfront chapel had turned out. They has smoothed the surface of the sand out and placed a lovely long white carpet as an isle for Hermione to walk down, the lake had several swans basking in the sun as they calmly swam around, the benches where the guests sat were made to slightly hover off the sandy surface and white carpet was placed where the guests feet could rest. Beautiful flower arrangements were intertwined artistically into the archway where the priest stood at a slightly raised podium with a gentle smile on his face.

He calmly cleared his throat. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Witches and Wizards... we are gathered here today to watch a beautiful wedding between Mr. Harry Potter and Miss. Hermione Granger." He paused for a moment. "Please let us begin." He nodded towards a young witch standing a few feet to the left of him, who raised her violin and began to play the wedding melody.

Little Mabel was wearing a soft pink dress, she carried a small basket in her left hand and would put her small right hand in the basket and sprinkle some colorful flower pedals on the white carpet. She had been chosen to be the flower girl and Draco was asked to escort her down the isle, he proudly accepted. When Mabel and Draco made their way down the isle and took their seats, Harry's heart began to hammer, it was time for Hermione to walk down the isle towards him and he couldn't wait to see how beautiful she would look. Harry had promised to not see her until she had a chance to walk halfway down the isle, so his eyes fell on the gentle waves of the lake. He remembered how he had carried Hermione out into the lake with her clothes on and playfully dropped her into the water and how they sat near the fire and eventually ended up tangled together and completely in love.

"You can look now Harry." Ron whispered.

Harry turned and when he saw Hermione, his eyes widened and his jaw slightly dropped. She looked amazing, beautiful, graceful and to Harry, she was just like an angel floating down from heaven. Her father was on her right side holding her delicate right hand in his and Mr. Weasley stood on her left side holding Hermione's left hand in his. Her chocolate brown eyes sparked and shimmered with joy, her face was full of delight, wonder and hope; her gentle cinnamon locks where neatly tied upwards with a few escaped curls purposely left around her face. Her cheeks glowed a light pink with small smile dimples as her lips formed a cute smile. Harry's eyes traveled to her pearly white wedding dress, it fit her figure perfectly and it was fairly simple but looked so beautiful on her. It floated around her causing the butterflies in his stomach to multiply. The material looked soft, as if it was made from the heavens with the finest silk, the dress twinkled lightly in the warm sun; it was perfect.

Harry felt the lump in his throat tighten. He had seen this dress before, he hadn't seen it at any of the weddings he had been at, but he vividly remembered the picture of his mother, father and their friends. The dress Hermione was wearing was the same dress his mother had worn on her wedding day. Harry felt entranced and almost as if his parents were standing beside him with their hands on his shoulders. It was an amazing feeling, like he wasn't so alone anymore because not only did he have Hermione, friends and those he considered a family, he also had what felt like his parents presence at his own wedding.

Mr. Weasley stepped aside and allowed Mr. Granger to give his daughter to Harry, he heard Hermione's mother give a quiet sob and her father gave Harry a reassuring grin.

Harry had a deep and special conversation with the Grangers two months prior to asking Hermione's hand in marriage. He had asked both Hermione's father and her mother, how they would feel if he asked Hermione to be his bride. They both approved and they had a wonderful evening talking about past events and Harry recalled some good memories he shared with Hermione. Of course, Hermione knew nothing about it, he had told her he needed to stay late at the office.

Harry intertwined his fingers with Hermione's as she looked into his eyes and got lost in the enchanting pool of green. They shared a grin, and each took a deep breath before the priest spoke again.

"Love is always patient and kind. It is never jealous. Love is never boastful or conceited. It is never rude or selfish. It does not take offense and is not resentful. Love is what these two wonderful people are celebrating today by binding their friendship forever and committing their souls to one another. Would you like to say a few words to one another?"

They both nodded and faced each other.

"Hermione, you've been one of my best friends since we both started our journey through Hogwarts and the Wizarding world, you've been my laughter in times of tragedy and sadness, your warm embrace and words of wisdom have meant more to me then anything else I have been offered through the years. You've shown me an unconditional love that has opened up my heart and allowed me to feel what it is to love and be loved. I can't imagine my life without you and... I will love you forever."

A tear made its way down Hermione's cheek; she smiled softly at Harry before speaking.

"Harry you are the first and only man I dreamed of getting married to. I cherish our memories together whether they are good, or bad and want to spend my life with you, to start a family and trust you with my fears, dreams and my heart. You have always meant so much to me, and it took a good friend to tell me that what I was experiencing was a love and devotion to you... I am forever grateful that you love me for who I am and that you treat me with such respect, loyalty and trust. When you hold me in your arms, I feel safe. When you look into my eyes and search my emotions and thoughts, I feel like words aren't necessary because you know me as well as you know yourself. Your voice cradles my insecurities and allows me to be a strong woman, because you believe in me. I have said this before, and I'll say it again... I love you Harry James Potter and nothing can ever change that."

Harry's chest tightened and he had to clear his throat; Hermione smiled at him, placed a hand on his arm and gave him a gentle squeeze.

"As a symbol of your marriage and as a reminder that your souls are combined, we have two golden bands. This marriage is a promise to care for one another, listen to one another and love one another, for as long as you both shall live, in sickness or in health. Harry James Potter, please take this ring and place it on Hermione's ring finger."

Harry did as he was told and whispered, "I love you."

"Hermione Jane Granger, please take this ring and place it on Harry's ring finger."

Hermione took the golden band and placed the ring on Harry's finger, she too whispered, "I love you."

"The inscription that was chosen on your wedding rings was 'Forever Yours', let this be a true statement. Harry James Potter and Hermione Jane Potter, I now pronounce you husband and wife... Mr. Potter, you may now kiss your bride."

They grinned at each other. Harry gently pulled Hermione towards him, she brushed a strand of his raven black hair from his bright emerald green eyes and flashed him a soft loving smile. He tilted her gently, caressing her back sending waves of warm chills through her body, she placed her hands on the back of his neck and beckoned him towards her with her submissive hazel brown eyes. He touched his lips against hers, giving her a tender, sweet, passionate kiss filled with so much emotion and love. She kissed him back as if it was their first and last kiss. As their guests clapped and began throwing rice at the newly wed couple, they hesitantly finished their kiss and with a raised eyebrow and mischievous grin, she told Harry that they would have to continue this later. She gently pulled away from his grasp, but he pulled her back towards him and closer then before; she felt his heart pounding against her chest. She bit her lower lip knowing that it drove him crazy. Harry kissed her again, her knees buckled slightly with the amount of tenderness and affection he was presenting; she couldn't help but get lost in his soft, warm, sweet kiss and fall in love with him again and again... forever.


End file.
